Cloud computer system for controlling clusters of remote devices

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a cloud computer system is disclosed for controlling a plurality of remote devices comprising a cloud server including a cloud based operating system comprising a data model stored in a computer memory. The data model includes commands performed by a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and, for each remote device, one or more operations for triggering processes executed by the remote device. The cloud based operating system generates a set of instructions from the plurality of commands and corresponding operations to control a portion of the remote devices to perform a task.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/051,166, filed Jul. 31, 2018, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/051,166 claims the benefit of priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/652,740, filed Apr. 4, 2018, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses, systems, and methods fora cloud operating system for controlling clusters of remote devices.

Autonomous systems are a technical challenge to build, yet offer farreaching benefits such as cost efficiency and flexibility. In anautonomous system (e.g., a fully automated system), devices operate withlimited or no human intervention. Without human intervention, suchsystems must be robustly designed and highly intelligent. One technicalchallenge with such systems is that deployments of different instancesof such systems may be challenging to control such that results andoutcomes are consistent across deployments. Additionally, automatedsystems may include complex subsystems for preforming highly specializedtasks that may need to be controlled individually and/or collectivelywith other subsystems to achieve desired results. Example applicationsof automated systems may include automated systems that are used tomanufacture products. One particular example automated system enabled byembodiments disclosed herein is an automated food production system.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a cloud computersystem for controlling a plurality of remote devices comprising a cloudserver including a cloud based operating system comprising a data modelstored in a computer memory. The data model includes commands that maybe performed by a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and,for each remote device, one or more operations for triggering processesexecuted by the remote device. The cloud based operating systemgenerates a set of instructions from the plurality of commands andcorresponding operations to control a portion of the remote devices toperform a task.

A local server is coupled to a plurality of remote devices. The localserver receives the instructions from the cloud server, and the localserver distributes particular instructions to corresponding remotedevices. The local server distributes the instructions based onparticular operations in the instructions corresponding to particularremote devices. The local server manages the execution of instructionsin the remote devices, wherein each remote device executes theparticular instructions received from the local server, and wherein eachremote device is configured to execute a plurality of predefined devicespecific processes in response to the particular instruction.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes a computerimplemented method of controlling a plurality of remote devices from acloud computer system comprising storing a data model in memory of thecloud computer system, the data model comprising commands to beperformed by a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and, foreach remote device, one or more operations for triggering processesexecuted by the remote device. A set of instructions is generated in thecloud computer system in response to a user input, the instructionsbeing generated from the plurality of commands and correspondingoperations to control a portion of a plurality remote devices to performa task, and the instructions sent to a local server over a network. Thelocal server is coupled to the plurality of remote devices, the localserver receiving the instructions from the cloud server and distributingparticular instructions to corresponding remote devices, wherein thelocal server distributes the instructions based on particular operationsin the instructions corresponding to particular remote devices, andwherein the local server manages the execution of instructions in theremote devices. The remote devices receive the distributed instructionsand execute the particular instructions received from the local server,wherein each remote device is configured to execute a plurality ofpredefined device specific processes in response to the particularinstruction.

The above method may be stored on a non-transitory machine-readablemedium as a program executable by at least one processing unit of acomputer, the program comprising sets of instructions for performing thetechniques described herein.

The following detailed description and accompanying drawings provide abetter understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cloud server for controlling remote devicesaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cloud server for controlling remote devices acrossdifferent locations according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cloud server for controlling remote devicesaccording to another embodiment.

FIGS. 4A-E illustrate elements of an example cloud operating systemaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example cloud controlled server, robotic system,and remote devices according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example cloud controlled kiosk according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cloud server for controlling a food productionkiosk according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 7A-H illustrate information and user interfaces for a cloud systemaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a process between a kiosk server and remote deviceaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates another process between a kiosk server and remotedevice according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an order process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates another order process according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an order delivery process according to anembodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example kiosk according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example food production kiosk according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates another view of an example food production kioskaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another view of an example food production kioskaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example food production kiosk according toone embodiment.

FIG. 18 illustrates another example food production kiosk according toone embodiment.

FIG. 19 illustrates a dispenser apparatus according to one embodiment.

FIG. 20 illustrates another view of a dispenser unit coupled to a trapunit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example trap according to one embodiment.

FIG. 22 illustrates a dispenser unit according to one embodiment.

FIG. 23A-B illustrate alternative the dispenser elements according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 24 illustrates a dispenser element in a first threshold positionaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 25 illustrates a dispenser element in a second threshold positionaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 26 illustrates a top view of a food dispenser apparatus accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 27 illustrates a top view of an ingredient dispenser apparatusaccording to one embodiment.

FIG. 28 illustrates a fully automated computer controlled dispensersystem according to an embodiment.

FIG. 29 illustrates a granule dispenser apparatus according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 30 illustrates an upper section of the granular dispenser accordingto one embodiment.

FIGS. 31A-C illustrate an example stopper according to one embodiment.

FIG. 32A-B illustrates an example cap according to one embodiment.

FIG. 33A-B illustrate another example stopper according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 34A-B illustrate the movement of the stopper in relation to thesawtooth forms on the ridge of the cap according to one embodiment.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example delivery system according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 36 illustrates an example delivery system according to anotherembodiment.

FIG. 37 illustrates an example movable unit, guide, mounting unit, andmotor according to an embodiment.

FIG. 38 illustrates a top view of an example movable unit, guide, andmounting unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 39 illustrates a side view of an example movable unit, guide, motorand mounting unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 40 illustrates a top view of an example engaging unit according toan embodiment.

FIG. 41 illustrates a bottom view of an example engaging unit accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 42 illustrates an example movable unit, mounting unit, and motoraccording to another embodiment.

FIG. 43 illustrates side view of an example movable unit, mounting unit,and motor according to another embodiment.

FIG. 44 illustrates computer system hardware according to the abovedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousexamples and specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. Such examples anddetails are not to be construed as unduly limiting the elements of theclaims or the claimed subject matter as a whole. It will be evident toone skilled in the art, based on the language of the different claims,that the claimed subject matter may include some or all of the featuresin these examples, alone or in combination, and may further includemodifications and equivalents of the features and techniques describedherein.

Example Distributed Operating System

One aspect of the disclosure includes controlling devices 110-114 from acloud server 100 via a local server 101, which in some embodiments mayinclude a robotic system that interacts with the devices to make aproduct (e.g., food). FIG. 1 illustrates a cloud based system forcontrolling the operation of a plurality of remote devices. Features andadvantages of the present disclosure include a cloud server thatgenerates instructions to a local server, and the local serverdistributes the instructions for execution by remote devices. As usedherein, a cloud server comprises software executable on one or morecloud computer hardware, for example. A local server is a softwareservice (“Local Service”), which may also execute on computer hardware,which may be local to the remote devices, for example. Embodiments ofthe disclosure may act as a distributed internet of things (IOT)operating system, for example, where instructions generated in a cloudcomputing system 100 are automatically propagated to different remotedevice clusters controlled by a local server 101 (aka local service).The local server 101 may distribute instructions from the cloud server100 to particular devices 110-114 for execution. Commands 120 in thecloud server 100 are thus seamlessly translated into instructions thatexecute specific operations, for example. The devices may be coordinatedso that their combined execution results in the completion of a taskspecified by a recipe in the cloud server, for example. One exampleembodiment described below pertains to production and delivery ofphysical items (e.g., food), where a cloud server issues instructions toa local server (e.g., a kiosk server), for example, and the local serverdistributes the instructions to a plurality of devices and at least onerobotic system to prepare physical items (e.g., food). A wide range ofother embodiments and applications of the features and techniquesdisclosed herein will be evident to those skilled in the art afterreading the present disclosure.

Referring again to FIG. 1 , a cloud server 100 may store information asa plurality of stored objects, for example. The stored information mayspecify commands 120, devices 121 and associated operations 122, andmappings 123 between particular commands and particulardevices/operations, for example. The stored objects may be JSON files,table records, or any other mechanism for storing the information, forexample. The cloud server 100 may be implemented on computer systems(e.g., hardware servers and storage arrays) in a data center andaccessed over the Internet, for example. The commands 120 may be mappedto operations 122 to be performed by one or more of the remote devices110-114 in a remote system. The remote devices 110-114 may be physicallylocated away from the data center, for example. Information 121 abouteach device may correspond to a particular remote device and beassociated with one or more operations 122 the remote device is capableof performing. The operations, when received by the associated remotedevice, may trigger complex device specific processes by the remotedevice, for example. In one embodiment, particular devices 121 haveassociated operations 122, and the commands 120 are mapped to one ormore operations for a particular device, for example. Accordingly,invoking a command 120 may cause an instruction generator 124 on thecloud server 100 to generate a set of instructions from the commands andcorresponding operations to cause a portion of the remote devices toperform a task. Instruction generator 124 may comprise a softwareservice that puts the instructions together from the data models,mappings, and particular instructions from a user to perform particularoperations, for example. In one example embodiment, one command maycorrespond to multiple operations performed by a plurality of remotedevices. Accordingly, when a particular command is invoked, thecorresponding operations mapped to the command may be combined and usedto generate instructions that are sent to a local server, for example.

The local server 101 receives the instruction set from the cloud server100. The local server 101 distributes one or more particularinstructions to corresponding remote devices 110-114 coupled to theserver to carry out one or more operations associated with the device.For example, if an instruction includes an operation associated with aparticular device, then such instruction may be parsed out of theinstruction set by the local server and sent to the targeted device tocarry out the operation. Accordingly, the local server may selectivelydistribute the instructions based on particular operations correspondingto particular devices in the instructions received from the cloudserver. Each remote device executes the particular operations in theinstruction received from the local server. Each remote device may beconfigured to execute predefined device specific processes correspondingto the associated operations in response to receiving instructionsembedded with different operations.

For example, a device 1 may be associated with an operation 1 in thecloud server 100. If a command is triggered in the cloud server that ismapped to device 1:operation 1, then the cloud server generatesinstructions including operation 1. When the local server parses theinstructions from the cloud server, operation 1 is distributed to actualdevice 1 for execution. Device 1 receives operation 1 and performs apredefined process corresponding to operation 1. Similarly, as anotherexample, device 1 may be associated with an operation 2 in the cloudserver 100. If a command is triggered in the cloud server that is mappedto device 1:operation 2, then the cloud server generates instructionsincluding operation 2. When the local server parses the instructionsfrom the cloud server, operation 2 is distributed to actual device 1 forexecution. Device 1 receives operation 2 and performs another predefinedprocess corresponding to operation 2. Device 1 may be thusly triggeredto perform a wide range of device specific processes (e.g., algorithms,complex operations, tasks, etc . . . ) by the cloud server. Likewise, asanother example, a device 2 may be associated with an operation 3 in thecloud server 100. If a command is triggered in the cloud server that ismapped to device 2:operation 3, then cloud server generates instructionsincluding operation 3. When the local server parses the instructionsfrom the cloud server, operation 3 is distributed to actual device 2 forexecution. Device 2 receives operation 3 and performs another predefinedprocess corresponding to operation 3. Device 2 may be thusly triggeredto perform a wide range of device specific processes (e.g., algorithms,complex operations, tasks, etc . . . ) by the cloud server.

In one embodiment, operations are specified in the instructions from thecloud server using operation names or descriptions. For example,instructions from the cloud server may include a string of characterssuch as “process”:“pick” or “process”: “dispense” (e.g., in a JSON file)as illustrated in an example embodiment below. In other embodiments,APIs, RPCs, COM, GPBs, or other communication protocols may be used tointerface between the cloud server 100, local server 101, and remotedevices 110-114, for example. In one embodiment, the instructionsgenerated by the cloud server further comprise remote deviceidentifications specifying the remote devices each operation isassociated with. Accordingly, the local server may selectivelydistribute particular instructions based on the remote deviceidentifications (e.g., name or other identifier of a device associatedwith each operation). For example, an instruction may identify a deviceby including “device” “name”:“solid dispenser” or “device” “name”:“robot”, for example. When a robotic device receives a “pick” operation,for example, it may trigger a process inside the robotic device to movethe robot in a predetermined manner, for example, as described in moredetail below.

In one embodiment, the local server 101 may manage the execution ofinstructions in the remote devices 110-114. For example, when the localserver distributes an instruction to a particular device, the device maystart execution of an operation and the local server may prevent thedevice from receiving any further instructions until the device hascompleted the operation. The local server may “lock” a device, forexample, after sending the device a command, and the local server mayprevent other operations from being sent to the device until the currentoperation has been completed, for example. However, the local server maydistribute operations to other devices while one or more devices areprocessing their operations (e.g., and thus, are locked). In oneembodiment, instruction sets from the cloud server correspond todifferent jobs (e.g., production orders) and the instruction sets mayinclude flags indicating that particular devices may be shared acrossjobs. If a device is able to be shared across jobs, then if the deviceis not being utilized during one job, it may be utilized during anotherjob. Local server may manage execution of instructions across a networkof devices and arbitrate initiation of operations by each device, forexample.

As illustrated in example embodiments below, the commands 120 may besteps of a production recipe, where the production recipe may havemultiple steps for producing a product, for example. The steps may bemapped to particular operations associated with particular devices, forexample. Thus, when a production recipe is invoked, the productionrecipe, and the operations and devices mapped to the production recipesteps, are combined into instructions (e.g., by an instruction generator124 in the cloud server 100) and sent to the local server 101 fordistribution to each device necessary to perform specified operations tocarry out the production recipe, for example.

In a multistep command, device operations 122 may be sequenced accordingto a specified sequence in the command so that the devices perform thespecified operations in the specified sequence, for example. Thespecified sequence may be included in the instructions sent from thecloud server to the local server to control the sequence of execution ofdevice operations, for example.

In one embodiment, commands 120 may be mapped to operations on aplurality of remote devices to perform a task involving multipledevices. For example, a production recipe may include steps that aremapped to operations by a robotic system and multiple devicesinteracting with the robotic system. Accordingly, the local serverreceives and distributes instructions for multiple devices with embeddedoperations that are executed by each device.

In one embodiment, at least one remote device is a robotic device (alsoreferred to herein as a “robotic system”), and the robotic device andthe other remote devices co-ordinate physical activity. In oneembodiment, the distribution of instructions for a particular taskalternates between sending an instruction to the robotic device andsending an instruction to one of the other remote devices. For example,a robotic device may receive a first operation to move an object to apredefined location, and the following operation is issued to a devicein the predefined location to perform an operation involving the object(e.g., scan object, weigh object, blend, dispense, etc . . . ). The nextoperation may again be to the robotic device to move the object toanother physical location, where the coordinated physical activityresulting from alternating operations between the robotic device and theother devices executes a complete task.

In one example embodiment, the local server 101 or device(s) 110-114 inthe local server sends identification code(s) to the cloud server 100.The cloud server may generate instructions and operations in concertwith the identification code(s). Such capability(ies) enable the cloudserver(s) and local server(s) to operate and interoperate aheterogeneous mixture of servers and devices with varied capabilities.

In one example embodiment, the local server(s) 101 and/or device(s)110-114 sends information pertaining to the features of components(e.g., ingredients) that are loaded into the device—examples in the caseof food may be brand, cut size, traceability codes, viscosity,granularity, expiration date, quantity, or the like. The cloud server100 may use this information to dynamically generate the offerings atthe local station(s).

In one embodiment, the remote devices 110-114 are coupled to the localserver 101 through a wired network (e.g., Ethernet). In anotherembodiment, the remote devices 110-114 are coupled to the local server101 through a wireless network (e.g., WiFi). Other embodiments mayinclude combinations of devices wired and wirelessly networked to thelocal server, for example.

Example System for Controlling Remote Devices Interacting with a RoboticSystem

As mentioned above, features and advantages of the present disclosureinclude coordinating physical activity between a robotic system and aplurality of remote devices from a cloud server. FIG. 2 illustrates twoindependent aspects of the disclosure. First, as described in moredetail below, a cloud server 200 may include production recipes 201,devices 202 and operations 203, and mappings 204 for multiple locations230-233. Second, one or more devices 210-214 may be a robotic system(e.g., device 214). Robotic systems refer broadly to actuationmechanisms that can interact with the remote devices 210-213 to performvarious tasks. One example task where a robotic system is used tointeract with remote devices is food preparation, as described in moredetail below. One example type of robotic system is a robotic arm asillustrated below. However, it is to be understood that robotic systemsaccording to the present disclosure are not to be limited to roboticarms. Accordingly, production recipe steps 205 may be mapped tooperations 203 that cause a robotic device, such as a robotic arm, forexample. Mappings 204 may associate particular steps 205 with one ormore operations 203 on devices and one or more robotic systemoperations, for example. In one embodiment, the robotic system 214coordinates physical activity, and the robotic system may move itemsbeing operated on between devices 210-213, where each device may performsome operation on the item. The item may be a part, product underproduction, product being manufactured, or the like, for example. Oneembodiment described below illustrates application of some techniquesdescribed herein to the production of food items, for example.

FIG. 3 illustrates configuring clusters of devices in a cloud server 300where different companies may have different clusters of devices indifferent locations, configured in different ways, for example.Different companies 310A-N may have different clusters 312A-N of devicesin different locations 311A-N, and the clusters in each location mayhave different devices 313A-N and different mappings 314, for example.From FIG. 3 , it can be seen that a variety of entities may exist in acloud server.

Companies 310: The list of all the companies one or more systems aredeployed at. Each company may have its own management and financialmodels.

Locations 311: The systems can be distributed across several locations.Various embodiments may have no hardcoded relationship between companiesand locations, and each Location may or may not be associated with aspecific Company.

Clusters 312: A cluster comprises a local server (also referred toherein as a local service or local software service) and a plurality ofdevices (e.g., IoT devices and a robotic arm). Each location can haveone or more clusters. Particular clusters at particular locations mayhave devices 313 and associated operations 314, commands 316 (e.g.,recipes) as well as mappings 315 between commands (e.g., recipe steps)and devices and operations 317 (and particular operation parameters),devices and ingredients 318, and/or devices and position information 319(“place”), for example. Accordingly, different device clusters 312 may,for example, be configured to make different products by performingdifferent coordinated tasks, for example. In one example embodiment,clusters 312 are Kiosks described below, and may be configured to makedifferent food items, such as a Smoothie making Kiosk as well as Burritomaking Kiosk, for example.

The topology illustrated in FIG. 3 provides a flexible cloud serversoftware architecture for different entities to configure and controldifferent locations having different clusters, with different devices,recipes, and mappings, for example.

FIG. 4A-E illustrate various embodiments of data stored in the cloudserver. FIGS. 4A-E illustrate elements of a data structure (or datamodel) for performing the various techniques described herein. Asillustrated in FIG. 4A, a plurality of production recipes 410 may bedefined. Production recipes 410A-C may specify steps 411A-D to beperformed to create or otherwise produce a product, which may be a foodproduct, for example. Production recipes 410A-C may comprise datacorresponding to different ingredients 412A-C stored in the cloudserver. Ingredients 412A-C are the components of the product beingproduced, for example. In one embodiment, ingredient data may have aminimum field, maximum field, normal field, and time field. In otherembodiments, ingredient data parameters may be included for otherproperties such as viscosity, temperature, etc., or any other parameterwhere variations in the parameter impacts to the final recipe, forexample. Features and advantages of some embodiments allow users toadjust the amount of each ingredient of an item under production (e.g.,a food item) by adjusting amounts of ingredients within allowable rangesset by the minimum and maximum values. A user interface, for example, ofa mobile application (or “App”) may display “Slider bars” or “sliders”that users may adjust. The App receives the maximum, minimum, andnominal values and a user may increase or decrease each ingredientwithin the ranges defined in the ingredient data, for example, so thatthe user has some flexibility in adjusting the amounts of differentingredients within the ranges without changing the basic makeup of theitem, for example.

In one embodiment, steps may include natural language descriptions of aparticular portion of the process for producing a product (e.g., “putliquid in jar”). In this case, a lay user may advantageously configure acluster of devices to produce a product without requiring any advancedprogramming skills, for example. In one embodiment, the productionrecipe step information stored in the cloud server are associated with apriority, where the priorities of different steps of a particularproduction recipe are different, and priorities control the order thatthe local server distributes instructions to each device. The prioritymay be included in the instructions sent from the cloud server to thelocal server, for example, and used by the local server to control anorder of execution of corresponding operations by particular devices.Recipe steps may also include a description, for example, indicating thenatural language description of the step.

As illustrated in FIG. 4B, in some example embodiments one or moredevices 420A-B may be associated with a place 421A-B. The place mayprovide a physical position of a particular device for interaction witha robotic system, for example. Place data is the association between thevirtual and physical space. As described further below, place may beused as the co-ordinate from a robot's point of view in terms of whereto find “the physical device”, for example. For example, x, y, z, Rx,Ry, Rz of a device may be mapped to software application programinterfaces (APIs). Accordingly, mapping information may include amaintaining a physical location of the devices and items underproduction, for example. Additionally, in some example embodiments, oneor more devices may be specified as sharable 422A-B (e.g., using asoftware flag in the cloud server). When a device is specified assharable, the device may be used across multiple tasks, for example, sothat when one device in a cluster is performing one step for one recipe,a robotic system may interact with another device to perform anotherstep for a different recipe, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, the cloud server may include informationassociating particular devices 423A-N with device specific operations424A-N and parameters. The cloud server also includes information abouta plurality of mappings as illustrated in FIGS. 4D and 4E. Mappings425A-N may associate recipe steps with particular devices and one ormore device specific operations illustrated in FIG. 4D, for example. Inone example embodiment, mappings may link natural language or higherlevel steps to one or more device specific operations so that when acommand is issued (e.g., step:“put liquid in jar”), the command istranslated automatically into one or more device specific operationsexecutable by the remote devices and/or a robotic system, for example.In one embodiment, a plurality of mappings associate recipe steps withparticular devices and a plurality of device specific operations. Inanother embodiment, a plurality of mappings 426A-N associate particulardevices in a particular cluster of devices with ingredients as shown inFIG. 4E, wherein the ingredients are components of the item beingproduced by execution of the instructions across the devices in acluster.

Example Cloud System with Robotics/IOT Devices that CoordinateOperations on an Item

Embodiments of the present disclosure may further include a roboticsystem that physically coordinates operations on an item or productunder production with a plurality of devices under control of a cloudoperating system where the execution of cloud based commands results inactions by the remote devices automatically, for example, as describedabove. In one embodiment, a robot and IoT devices coordinate physicalactivity of physical item. For example, IoT devices may operate on theitem and the robot moves the item between IoT devices. In oneembodiment, the IoT devices deliver/move components of the item. Asillustrated below, the IoT devices may comprise a motor (e.g., a steppermotor) coupled to a mechanical assembly for moving components oringredients of the item from a first position to a second position. Thesecond position may be in contact with the item being moved by therobot. In one embodiment, the robotic system is capable of holding andmoving an item within a working area and has a first reach, for example,and at least a portion of the devices are positioned around the roboticsystem within a first reach to interact with the item. The system mayfurther comprise a delivery platform (e.g., a counter) within the firstreach, where the robotic system places the item at a predeterminedposition on an upper surface of the delivery platform and wherein anitem delivery device (aka an engaging unit) on the upper surface of thedelivery platform engages the item and moves the item from a firstposition to a second position. In one embodiment, the item deliverydevice is magnetically coupled to a movable unit (e.g., a car)configured on or below a lower surface of the delivery platform, forexample. The movable unit may move along a path, for example, and inaccordance therewith, the item delivery device on the upper surface ismagnetically pulled along the path to move the item along acorresponding path on the upper surface of the delivery platform, forexample.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cluster of devices 501-509 including a roboticsystem 510 for coordinating operations on an item 511. The devices andthe robotic system are coupled to a local server 512 and a cloud server(not shown) that operates as described above. The devices, roboticsystem, and local server may be networked together via a wired orwireless network 513 (e.g., Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, etc . . . ).Thus, each device and the robotic system are coupled to the local server512. In one embodiment, the robotic system moves an item betweenphysical interfaces 521-529 of a plurality of devices in a cluster ofdevices. The local server coordinates movement of the item by therobotic system across a plurality of predetermined positions based onthe distribution of instructions from the cloud server, wherein thepredetermined positions comprise physical interfaces on the devices forreceiving the item. The physical interfaces may be used to performoperations on the items. In one embodiment, components (or ingredients)are coupled to the item. For example, a robotic system may place theitem in a particular device physical interface. Next, the devicereceives an instruction from the local server, where the instructionconfigures the device to move one or more components (e.g., foodingredients) from a first location to a second location, where thesecond location is in the device physical interface, and in accordancetherewith, the device couples the one or more components to the item(e.g., a food item under production). One example device that movescomponents is a dispenser, for example. As described in more detailbelow, the components may be one or more of a powdered food item, agranulated food item, a cut food item, or a liquid food item and thedevices are one of a plurality of dispensers, for example. The systemmay also include one or more devices that physically process the item(“physical processing devices”). Example embodiments of the system inFIG. 5 may include a robotic system that moves one or more items betweenphysical interfaces of dispensers and one or more physical processingdevices, for example. Dispensers may add components to the item andphysical processing units may physically process the components (e.g.,heating, cooling, mixing, or other physical activity). Dispensers andphysical processing units may perform their tasks in any order specifiedby a production recipe in the cloud server, for example.

FIG. 6 illustrates another aspect of the disclosure. Embodiments of thedisclosure may pertain to devices physically coordinating production ofitems within a radius 600 of a robotic arm, for example. As illustratedin FIG. 6 , a first device coupled to the local server 630 is a roboticarm 601 having a radius of reach (“R”). In this example, the pluralityof devices 602-610 are configured around the robotic arm 601 within therobotic arm's radius 600. The devices may further have physicalinterfaces (e.g., interface 620 for receiving an item placed in thephysical interfaces by the robotic arm, for example. Thus, the devicesmove components of the item under production into the physical interfacebased on instructions received from the cloud server and distributed tothe devices by the local server 630.

While a robotic arm 601 and arranged devices 602-610 may be applied to arange of applications, in this example the radius 600 of the robotic armextends over a portion 660 of a counter 650, for example. Here, secondportion 661 of the counter 650 is outside the radius of the robotic arm.Features and advantages of the disclosure configure the robotic arm toplace completed items (fully finished goods or completed from theperspective of tasks performed by the robotic arm and related cluster ofdevices) at a predetermined position 651 on the counter inside theradius. As illustrated, a delivery mechanism (not shown) moves thecompleted items from inside the radius to outside the radius to a secondpredetermined position 652. In this example, the local server 630distributes a first instruction from the cloud server to the robotic arm601 to place a completed item in the first predetermined position 651 onthe counter 650 within the radius of the robotic arm. Then, after therobotic arm 601 sends a signal to the local server 630 indicating thatthe robotic arm has completed the place operation, the local serverdistributes a second instruction from the cloud server to a deliverydevice to move the completed item from the first predetermined position651 to a second predetermined position 652 outside the radius of therobotic arm. In one example implementation described in more detailbelow, the plurality of devices 601-610 and the local server 630 are akiosk. While FIG. 6 illustrates delivery from within the reach of arobotic system to outside the reach of a robotic system for a roboticarm having a circular radius defining a sphere, it is to be understoodthat other types of robotic systems with different reaches patterns andworking areas could also be used in other embodiments.

Example System Directed to Preparation of Food Products

Features and advantages of the present disclosure include an automatedsystem for preparing food products based on a cloud server controllingone or more robotic systems and devices in kiosks using a food operatingsystem (FOODOS™). FIG. 7 illustrates the techniques described aboveapplied to an automated kiosk 780 for producing food items. Forinstance, in one example implementation a cloud server 700 storesinformation comprising food recipes 701 comprising a plurality ofnatural language steps and a plurality of ingredients. The steps mayhave an associated order expressed as a priority. Users may varyparticular ingredients manually through a UI of an App on a mobiledevice 790, for example, to change the levels of various ingredientsbetween maximum and minimum values without altering the basic nature ofthe food item, for example. The cloud server further stores a datastructure comprising information 703 about devices and correspondingoperations, which when received by the devices, cause the devices toexecute device specific processes. Each operation may comprise one ormore corresponding parameters, for example. The system may include aplurality of mapping data 705. For example, the cloud server may includemappings associating steps of the recipes to one or more operations onthe devices and/or mappings associating food ingredients to particulardevices, for example. Accordingly, in response to execution of a recipe(e.g., “an order”), the information on the cloud server is automaticallytranslated into instructions by instruction generator 706, sent to akiosk 780 comprising a local server 710, robotic system 712, and devices713-717, and the local server distributes the operations embedded in theinstructions to the devices based on the order to produce a foodproduct.

Referring again to FIG. 7 , the plurality of devices comprise a roboticsystem 710, one or more dispensers 713-715, and one or more physicalprocessing units as described above. The example in FIG. 7 shows a solidfood dispenser 714, a granulated food dispenser 715, a liquid dispenser713, a blender 716, a robotic system 712, and a delivery system 717 formoving an automatically produced food product from a first position on acounter (e.g., within a reach of the robotic system) to a secondposition on the counter (e.g., outside a reach of the robotic system),for example.

The following is one example of steps of a recipe for a smoothie:

-   Ingredients:-   Banana: Normal value, Max, Min, time-   Protein Powder: Normal value, Max, Min, time-   Orange Juice: Normal value, Max, Min, time-   Steps (e.g., commands):-   Get solid into jar (priority 1)-   Get powder into jar (priority 2)-   Get liquid into jar (priority 3)-   Robot→Place (Device: Blender)

The following are example device specific operations mapped to a commandstep “Get solid into jar” (e.g., a prioritized list of operations tocomplete the step):

-   -   Device=Robot; Device Specific Process=Place; parameter=(device,        ingredient dispenser)—operation description: Places jar under        ingredient dispenser,    -   Device=Ingredient Dispenser; Device Specific Process=Dispense;        parameters=(quantity: VALUE; desired weight: VALUE)—operation        description: Dispenses specified amount from ingredients,    -   Device=Robot; Device Specific Process=Pick; parameters=device,        ingredient dispenser)—operation description: Removes jar from        ingredient dispenser.

As mentioned above, particular ingredients (bananas) may be mapped to aparticular ingredient dispenser in a kiosk in the cloud server. Themapping may form an association between the ingredient and the dispenserfor specific instance of a kiosk 780 corresponding to a specificlocation, for example, so different locations 781-784 may have differentdispensers with different ingredients, for example. The data stored inthe cloud server forms a data model of each local cluster, which may beused for automatically producing items in response to product orders,for example.

In one embodiment, one command step may modify a subsequent commandstep. For example, a first command may be associated with operations andparameters to cause a dispenser to dispense 50 grams of a solid (e.g.,mangos) into ajar. However, the dispenser may actually dispense 75grams. The actual result of some of the device operations may be sentback to kiosk server 710 and cloud server 700 to modify subsequentoperations. In this illustrative example, if 75 grams of mangos wasactually dispensed, then a subsequent command to dispense 90 grams ofliquid (e.g., Kefir) may be modified to dispense 135 grams of liquid sothat the ratio of components (e.g., of mangos to Kefir) is maintained.

Some embodiments may perform the modification to the subsequentinstructions locally in a local server (101 in FIG. 1 or 710 in FIG. 7), for example, without sending information back to a cloud server.However, in other embodiments, the results of various operations by thedevices may be sent to the cloud server (100 in FIG. 1 or 700 in FIG. 7), and the cloud server has the ability to override the local server,for example. For example, some embodiments may change the logic on howliquid dispensing is adjusted when solid dispensing changes (e.g., usinga different technique than the ratio method illustrated above). Todeploy the new logic for a different technique, if it is done on thelocal server, the system will have to deploy the change to everyinstallation. However, in some embodiments, the cloud server has theability to override the local server. Accordingly, changes to theprocessing logic may be implemented across multiple device clusters andlocal servers (e.g., multiple kiosks) with just one update to cloudserver, for example. The system may include the ability to makedecisions locally as well as ability to override from the cloud.

The data stored on a cloud server for a specific example is illustratedin FIGS. 7A-H. Data may be accessed through a user interface (UI) andstored on the server using a variety of data storage techniques (e.g.,objects, tables, etc . . . ). The data fields in the following UIfigures illustrate the data fields and relationships for an example datamodel. FIG. 7A illustrates a recipe description. Each recipe may includea recipe ID 740, a recipe name (or “title”) 741 and other informationabout the recipe (e.g., price, description, blend time for configuringthe blender, etc . . . ). FIG. 7B illustrates ingredients comprisingminimum 742 and maximum 743 quantities (which in some embodiments mayset boundaries for modification by a user) and a normal quantity744 anddispense times 745, for example. Each ingredient may have multiplevalues for small, medium, and large servings, for example. In thisexample FIG. 7C illustrates steps and priorities, where the steps arecommands expressed as natural language descriptions so that a lay usercan define a process of producing a product, for example. Invoking eachstep then invokes associated operations, which are incorporated intoinstructions and sent to the local server for distribution to theappropriate device. In this example, a highest priority step is “Getsolid ingredients into jar” 750, which may be associated with a soliddispenser device and operations for execution by a solid dispenser todispense ingredients, for example. A second highest priority step is“Get powder ingredients into jar” 751, then “Get liquid ingredients intojar” 752, and then a step 753 for invoking a robotic system to “place” ajar in a “Blender” device, for example. Priorities may be changed by auser using the up/down arrows 754, for example, and may include stepdependencies 755. FIG. 7D illustrates a mapping of the step “Get powderingredients into jar” to device specific operations for controlling arobotic system and dispenser to perform the step. This example mappingincludes a device name 756, device specific operation name 757 (here,process name) (e.g., devices may perform multiple operations), andoperation specific parameters 758. This example command step may invokean operation on a “robot” to “place” an item in an “ingredientdispenser,” another operation on an ingredient dispenser” to “dispense”a particular “quantity” of an ingredient (e.g., specified as a time inseconds for the dispenser to dispense, a desired weight, and a quantityparameters), and a third operation for the “robot” to “pick” the item upfrom the “dispenser” for placement in another physical interface, forexample. Each operation may be assigned an ID 759, which may be used fordistributing the operations in the server, for example. Users may definecommand steps and “ADD” operations for devices, processes on the remotedevices to execute, and parameters to develop customized command stepson clusters of remote devices for a wide range of applications, forexample. FIG. 7E illustrates a plurality of operations mapped to acommand macro of prioritized steps for “Serving” a product. In someembodiments, a macro command step may be a number of operations that areperformed repeatedly when an item is produced, for example, and may bethe same across productions cycles, for example. A “Serve” command inthis example includes multiple operations directed to the “blender”remote device for mixing a blended drink (e.g., pulse, close, blend,open) and cleaning the jar (e.g., pulse, rinse, close) as well asoperations for a robot (e.g., obtaining a cup, picking up the jar fromthe blender, pouring the contents of the jar into the cup, and placingthe jar back in the blender for cleaning), for example. FIG. 7Fillustrates a plurality of operations mapped to a macro of prioritizedsteps for delivering a product (using a delivery mechanism describedbelow). This example command macro is mapped to operations forcontrolling a robot remote device to pick up a cup and place the cup ina predetermined position on a counter. The macro further includesoperations for triggering a delivery system to move the cup from a firstpredetermined position on the counter to a second predetermined positionon the counter. Finally, in this example, the macro includes anoperation instructing the robot to perform a “wave” function and thenreturn to a “home” position. FIG. 7G illustrates operations (aka deviceprocesses) and corresponding parameters associated with a device (here,a robotic system). FIG. 7G illustrates that a robotic system may haveoperations for picking up an item, placing an item, going to aparticular position, going to a home position, waving, blending,griping, ungripping, for example. FIG. 7H illustrates a robot specificoperation “Pick”. This example operation includes an operation ID, aname, one or more parameters, which may be defined by a user to meet theprocesses available on a particular remote device. Users may add remotedevices to clusters with new functionality and define the operations,parameters, and other features available on such devices in the cloudserver system for cloud control of the new remote devices, for example.

As mentioned above, the cloud server may organize and otherwiseassociate information around companies, locations, and clusters.Referring again to FIG. 7 , in this example, the clusters of devices arefor food preparation. For example, each Kiosk 780 can have multipledevices, such as a Robot, Dispensers, Blenders, Range, Oven, etc. Insome cases, one device can have multiple functionalities. For example,Range and Oven can be one entity vs two entities. Each Kiosk may alsohave multiple places. These are typically the places where the devicesexist in the Kiosk. This is a reference in physical space to devices sothat devices can be operated on mechanically (e.g., by the robot). Aplace may or may not have a device but each device is, for example, in aplace (and thus, may be associated with a place as described above).Each Device or Place may perform a defined set of command steps of aproduction recipe. For example, some of the steps can be blend, cook,bake, pick, place, cut, dance, etc. Each step may be a combination ofmultiple device operations or smaller steps, for example.

In one example embodiment, production recipes are food preparationrecipes or recipe categories. Categories are a set of steps groupedtogether to create a “Product.” For example, the product can besmoothie, cake, juices, pasta bowls, burritos, etc. Products in the samecategory may share the same production recipe steps, for example.Recipes may contain a set of ingredients, which when combined with thesteps in Categories, makes a “Product.” For example, Peach Perfection orStrawberry Whirl may be different types of smoothies. Veggie Burrito orChicken Burrito are different types of burritos and so on. The processof making a category of products is the same, but the ingredients makesit a very different product. A production recipe can have its own set ofsteps as well without an explicit category, as described above.Ingredients are items that go into a recipe and, combined with steps,makes into a product. The ingredients are available in the Kiosk throughIngredient Dispensers, which may be in a specific place in the Kiosk,for example. Thus, when the cloud server receives an “order” to build aproduct (e.g., make a smoothie) at a particular kiosk location, thecloud server selects the recipe and ingredients for the selected item,determines the devices and operations from the model of the kiosk at theparticular location, and generates instructions for the local kioskserver to cause the robot and devices to make the item, for example.

In some example implementations, users may interact with the cloudserver through a mobile application 790 (App). As discussed above, inone embodiment the App may present a user with sliders to adjust theamount of different ingredients in a particular recipe, for example.Alternatively, users may interact with the kiosk through a kiosk App711, which may interact with the kiosk server directly to access thecloud server and kiosk models to gather information and generateinstructions for a customer's order, for example.

The kiosk server 710 (aka kiosk service) may be the central entity thatdistributes and coordinates the cloud operating system instructions fromthe cloud server, and which understands the recipe and distributes workand manages various devices within the kiosk, for example. The kioskserver may refer to a “svc connector app,” to provide a constantlyrunning service to communicate between the cloud server, the kioskserver, and various devices within the kiosk. Kiosk devices may beself-contained modules within each device that communicate with thekiosk server. These devices may include a plug-in module (e.g., acontroller) to communicate with and interpret instructions received fromthe kiosk server, for example. In one embodiment, the devices aremanaged in a systematic, streamlined manner. As mentioned above, thekiosk server distributes instructions to the devices. Exampleinstructions sent from the kiosk server to devices in the kiosk areillustrated below. Some embodiments may include a kiosk App, whichprovides user interface services for customer order placement, delivery,and entertainment, for example.

Kiosk server 780 and device communications may be implemented using avariety of techniques. Communications can be divided between protocol(e.g., WiFi, BLE/BT, bluetooth, etc) and application. In one embodimentthe kiosk is the server and the devices are the clients. In someapplications the devices may be servers and the kiosk the client. In oneembodiment, WiFi is used for connectivity and the kiosk 780 and remotedevices 712-717 may have their respective IP addresses.

In one embodiment, the local server (local service) and devices act asboth server and client. For example, a device may act as a client attimes and further have a server to resolve a polling issue at othertimes. The kiosk may send a push notification to a device to start apoll immediately, for example. The server on a remote device may also beused to monitor the status in case of error situations. In one exampleembodiment, the robotic system may follow this model and may act as botha client and a server, for example. FIG. 8 illustrates execution ofsteps where the kiosk server and devices have client and servercomponents, for example. FIG. 9 illustrates a power up sequence. FIG. 10illustrates recipe handling (e.g., when an order is placed from kiosk).FIG. 11 illustrates recipe handling (e.g., when an order is placed froma mobile app). FIG. 12 illustrates delivery of a completed itemaccording to an embodiment. In one example embodiment, messages in thesystem are sent in JSON format or using one of the other interfacetechniques described above. In some implementations, one or moreparticular devices in the kiosk may not be capable of sending orreceiving messages in the required format. However, in that case, themessage structure may get translated to the appropriate format. Forexample, a blender or stove may not have the ability to take a directinstruction from the kiosk server. However, in some embodiments, acontrol unit may be coupled to the stove to send and receive messageswith the local server and translate such messages into control signalsfor operating the device, for example.

Example Robotic Kiosk

Features and advantages of the present disclosure may further include anautomated food production kiosk based on a robotic system physicallycoordinating food production through interaction with IoT devices suchas food dispensers and physical processing units, for example, as wellas a delivery system. FIGS. 13-18 illustrate various embodiments ofrobotic kiosks according to the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure includes an apparatuscomprising an autonomous kiosk as illustrated in FIG. 13 , for example.In this example, a kiosk 1300 includes a robotic arm 1301, a pluralityof dispenser systems 1310, a plurality of physical processing units1314, and a counter 1302. While the present example illustrates varioustechniques using a robotic arm, it is to be understood that otherrobotic systems could be used that define different working areas withdifferent reaches, for example. The robotic arm described here is justone example. The robotic system has a maximum reach (e.g., radius, R)defining a working area (e.g., a sphere), for example. The dispensersystems in this example are configured around the robotic system, andthe dispenser systems each have a physical interface within the reach(e.g., radius) of the robotic system to receive an item. Each physicalprocessing unit also has a physical interface within the reach of therobotic system to receive the item. The counter 1302 includes a firstportion within the reach of the robotic system and a second portionoutside the reach of the robotic system, for example. The robotic systemmay sequentially move the item between predetermined positions indifferent interfaces of different dispenser systems. When the item is inone of said predetermined positions, a corresponding dispenser couplesan ingredient stored in the dispenser to the item, for example. When theingredients are coupled to the item, the robotic system moves the itemto a physical processing unit to process the item. The above steps fordispensing and processing the item could be repeated if multipleprocessing steps are defined by a recipe, for example. The dispensersand physical processing units may produce the product in a variety oforders based on the production recipe. For example, the system may getingredients 1-3, process using processing unit #1, get ingredients 4-5,and process using processing unit #2, then deliver, for example.Alternatively, the system may get all ingredients and then process. Whenthe system has completed producing the item (e.g., completed a recipe),the robotic system moves the item to a first predetermined position 1390on the first portion of the counter (indicated by a circle with an +)within the reach of the robotic system, and a delivery unit moves theitem from the first predetermined position 1390 on the first portion ofthe counter to a second predetermined position 1391 (indicated by circle+) on the second portion of the counter.

In one embodiment, the kiosk comprises a local server 1303 forcoordinating the production of each item without human interaction. Theserver may be coupled to a cloud computer system over the Internet, forexample, and the server may be coupled to control units for thedispensers 1310, robotic system 1301, and physical processing units 1314over a local network, such as Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, NFC, or thelike (not shown), for example.

In one embodiment, each physical interface of each device (e.g., adispenser or physical processor) in the kiosk has a predefined positionstored in a computer memory. Accordingly, the robotic system movesbetween the physical interfaces based on the stored predefinedpositions. The robotic system may be mounted in a first predefinedposition, which defines a sphere or reach, for example, and the physicalinterfaces are mounted in a plurality of second predefined positionssuch that physical interfaces do not move relative to the roboticsystem.

In one embodiment, the plurality of dispensers are food dispensers, theplurality of physical processing units are food processing units, andthe item is a food item. The dispensers and the physical processingunits may be automated systems under control of the local server 1303,for example. In various example embodiments, the physical processingunits 1314 may be a combination of food processing units, such as ablender, a stove, an oven, a mixer, shaker, a heater, or a grill, or anyother device that may be used to prepare food. Such devices may becoupled to a control unit (not shown) included as part of the physicalprocessing unit for receiving instructions from the local server andperforming device specific operations and processes, for example.

In one embodiment, the kiosk 1300 further comprises a plurality ofrefrigeration units 1313, where a portion of the dispenser systems thatstore ingredients are inside the refrigeration units. As illustrated inan example implementation below, dispenser systems may include dispenserunits comprising a hopper for storing ingredients, a dispenser elementfor moving ingredients from the bottom of the hopper to a trap throughwhich the ingredients can fall into ajar or other receptacle, forexample. The jar is placed in a physical interface below the dispenserand above or on top of a scale, for example. The scale, the dispenserunit, and a control circuit may form a local feedback loop foraccurately dispensing amounts of ingredients as defined in instructionsfrom the local server, for example. A dispenser system 1310 may also beconfigured in a feedback loop with the local server 1303, where thelocal server sends an amount to dispense, the disperser returns adispensed amount to the server based on a scale measurement, and theserver updates the amount and sends a second dispense instruction tofine tune the amount dispensed to obtain a desired amount, for example.

In one embodiment, the refrigerators 1313 may be arranged to form acurve around the robotic system and the counter may form a curve aroundthe robotic system. As illustrated in the example in FIG. 13 , thedispenser systems 1310 and the counter fully surround the robotic systemand are within the reach of the robotic system so the robotic system canmove items between interfaces, the processing unit, and the counter, forexample. In the example in FIG. 13 , the kiosk is substantiallycircular. Thus, when the refrigerators and counter are coupled together,the kiosk may be fully enclosed, for example. Other shapes andconfigurations may be used as illustrated below. As illustrated inexample embodiments shown below, the interfaces may be below therefrigerators. Thus, when the refrigerators and counter are coupledtogether, the robotic system may reach the physical interfaces and theposition on the counter for item delivery, for example.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example kiosk 1400 according to one embodiment.In this example, dispenser systems 1410 are configured around a firstportion of the robotic system and a counter 1402 is configured around asecond portion of the robotic system. Further, the dispenser systems maybe arranged above a plane defined by the counter, for example. Asillustrated in FIGS. 14-15 , the dispenser systems 1410A-F include ahopper for storing an ingredient, a dispenser element configuredvertically below the hopper to move ingredients, and a scale 1414. Anupper portion of the scale forms the physical interface for receivingthe item. Two physical interfaces for dispensers 1410C-D are illustratedat 1411 and 1412. In this example, ingredients move vertically downwardfrom the dispenser to the item.

In one embodiment, the physical interface of one or more dispensersystems is configured below a portion of the dispenser system thatstores ingredients. For example, the physical interfaces of thedispenser systems in this example are below ingredient dispensingportions of the dispensing systems. Additionally, physical interfacesfor receiving the item may be approximately in line with the counter,for example. This may be advantageous for minimizing the amount ofvertical movement a robotic system must go through in producing theproduct, for example.

Features and advantages of the present disclosure include mounting therobotic system in a first predefined position and configuring thephysical interfaces in a plurality of second predefined positions so thephysical interfaces do not move relative to the robotic system. Theplurality second predefined positions of the physical interfaces may bestored in a computer memory (e.g., of the server), for example, and therobotic system moves between the physical interfaces based on the storedsecond predefined positions and a recipe received from a cloud server.For example, if a recipe specifies that the food item is to includeingredients from dispensers 1410C and 1410D, then the server may accessstored positions for physical interfaces 1411 and 1412. First, theserver may send the robotic system the position for interface 1411. Therobotic system may then move a jar, for example, into the physicalinterface 1411. Next, the server may send dispenser 1410C an instructionto dispense an amount of ingredients specified in the recipe, forexample. Then, the server may send the robotic system the position forinterface 1412. Once the jar is in interface 1412, the server may senddispenser 1410D an instruction to dispense an amount of ingredients fromdispenser 1410D specified in the recipe, for example. Accordingly, thestored predefined positions may be used by the server to control themovement of the robotic system within the kiosk to move food items(e.g., a jar) between physical interfaces in the kiosk.

Referring again to FIG. 14 , the kiosk 1400 may be fully enclosed. Inthis example, the counter comprises wheels 1450 for moving the counteraway from other elements of the kiosk to access the other elements(e.g., for periodic maintenance). The wheels may be distributed aroundthe bottom of a base unit below the counter, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 14 , the kiosk further comprises a window 1430extending along a length of the counter and extending vertically to atop 1431 of the kiosk. The window 1430 may comprise one or more openings1432 for retrieving a completed item. The openings may comprise a bottomcomprising a portion of the counter, two vertical sides comprisingvertical edges of the window, and a top comprising a horizontal (here,rounded horizontal) edge of the window. It is to be understood thatother shapes and locations for the window could also be used.

FIG. 15 illustrates another aspect of the kiosk according to anembodiment. FIG. 15 illustrates an expanded view of an interior of akiosk having a robotic arm 1501 surrounded by refrigeration units 1520.Inside each refrigerator 1520 is a food dispenser. In this exampleillustration, solid food dispensers (e.g., solid food dispenser 1510)are configured in the back and to the right of the robotic arm andpowdered food dispensers (e.g., powdered dispenser 1511) are configuredto the left of the robotic arm. The food ingredient dispensers may storedifferent food ingredients for a recipe. For example, dispenser 1510 maystore cut up kiwis, while dispenser 1512 may store cut up strawberries.Similarly powder dispenser 1511 may store powdered sugar while powderdispenser 1513 may store a protein powder, for example. In this example,each of the food dispensers is located inside one of the refrigerationunits to keep perishable food ingredients cool and fresh. Therefrigeration units comprise openings in the floor of the refrigeratorbetween a bottom of each dispenser system and above the correspondingphysical interface. Two openings 1515 and 1516 in refrigerator 1520 areshown for dispensers 1510 and 1512, respectively. The openings areconfigured so that ingredients exiting from the bottom of each foodingredient dispenser move vertically downward from the food ingredientdispenser to the item when the item is in the corresponding physicalinterface. For example, opening 1515 is aligned with physical interface1530 and scale 1514, for example, so that a jar may be placed inphysical interface 1530 to capture ingredients from dispenser 1510 asthey move vertically down through opening 1515. A jar (aka, a pitcher)may be held in place on top of the scale 1514 by ridge 1540 engaging abottom of the jar, for example. Thus, the jar may be held in place inthe physical interface 1530 and measure the amount of ingredientsdispensed, for example. While a physical interface in this example is alocation under the dispenser and above the scale for placing a jar, itis to be understood that a variety of other physical interfaces may beused for other applications.

Referring to FIG. 16 , in one embodiment the item is a jar 1620 (aka, acontainer) holding a blended drink. After a blending step, the roboticarm 1401 pours the blended drink into a cup (not shown), and wherein thecup is moved by a delivery system from a first predetermined position onthe counter within the radius of the robotic arm to a secondpredetermined position outside the radius of the robotic arm andproximate to an opening in the window such that a user may retrieve thecup through the window. In one embodiment, the delivery system comprisesa magnetic puck 1460 shown in FIG. 14 on an upper surface of the counterand a car (not shown in FIG. 14 ) magnetically coupled to the puckmounted on a lower surface of the counter, and wherein the car movesalong a path between the first position and the second position belowthe counter, and in accordance therewith, a magnetic binding force movesthe puck, and wherein the puck pushes the item from first predeterminedposition to the second predetermined position on the upper surface ofthe counter.

Referring again to FIG. 14 , the counter 1402 may be curved aroundapproximately half the kiosk, and the front window 1430 may extend abovethe counter to a top 1431 of the kiosk and at least a portion of the topof the kiosk comprises a top window 1435. The kiosk may comprise aforward (or front counter) portion and a back (rear equipment) portion,wherein the forward portion comprises the counter 1402, the window 1430,and a portion of the top of the kiosk as a single moveable unit onwheels 1450 below a base of the counter. In this example, sidewallsand/or an edge of the moveable unit meet sidewalls of the refrigerationunits 1413 and/or an outer back kiosk case, for example, along edge 1451to seal the interior of the kiosk from external access, for example.

In one embodiment, the refrigeration units 1413 have first and secondsidewalls viewable through the window, the kiosk further comprisingdisplays 1470 (or monitors) mounted on the first and second sidewalls.In one embodiment, the displays are coupled to the local server todisplay the available food products (e.g., a menu) and items in theprocess of being produced by the kiosk. For example, the monitors maydisplay an available menu and/or descriptions of the current state ofitems in the process of being produced by the kiosk. Displays 1417 maybe coupled to the local server 1403 to receive information to bedisplayed. For example, when server 1403 receives an order (e.g., fromthe cloud system), the server may write a name, description of theorder, and status of the order into a memory location and send the nameand description to one of the displays for display to a user, forexample.

FIG. 16 illustrates additional features of the present disclosure. Forexample, in one embodiment a base 1630 of the robotic arm is elevatedabove a floor, and wherein the robotic arm 1401 moves the item between aplurality of positions within a sphere above and below the counter.

FIG. 16 further illustrates an example of one type of processing unit.In this example, the physical processing unit comprises a plurality ofblenders 1601 for mixing ingredients received in a jar from thedispensers. A blender may further be used for cleaning the dispensers,where the given blender is coupled to an automated water source 1602,for example. As an initial step, an empty blender may be placed in theblender processing unit 1601 and water may be dispensed from the watersource to the blender processing unit and into the jar automaticallyunder control of the local server. The water may include a cleaningagent, for example. The local server may send an instruction to dispensethe water and then turn the blender on to agitate the water inside thejar, for example, thus cleaning the interior of the jar. The physicalprocessing units may further comprise a sink 1605 located under thecounter for and adjacent to the blender. Once the water is blended inthe jar for a predetermined time, the robotic arm may receive aninstruction to move the jar from the blender and pour the water into thesink, for example.

Embodiments of the kiosks disclosed herein may take a number ofdifferent shapes and forms. For example, in various embodiments thekiosk may be circular or a polygon in shape (e.g., a square, rectangle,or hexagon). FIG. 17 illustrates an example kiosk wherein the kiosk issubstantially a hexagon. Additionally, components of various kiosks maybe placed in different locations. FIG. 18 illustrates an example kioskwherein the dispenser systems and the physical processing units arearranged below a plane defined by the counter, and wherein the countersubstantially surrounds the robotic system. In this example, thedelivery system may deliver food items to a number of openings aroundthe periphery of the kiosk, for example.

Example Solid Dispenser

In one embodiment, one or more remote devices include a solid dispenser.Thus, the present disclosure further relates to solid dispensing, and inparticular, to a component dispenser apparatus and methods for same,such as a solid food dispenser.

FIG. 19 illustrates a dispenser apparatus according to one embodiment.The dispenser apparatus may include a hopper 9110, a dispenser unit9120, and a trap unit 9130, for example. The dispenser unit may becoupled to the hopper to receive the components to be dispensed. In thisexample, the trap is configured below the dispenser and the hopper 9110is configured above the dispenser 9120. The hopper 9110 is coupled tothe dispenser 9120 at an opening 9111 in the bottom of the hopper 9110and a corresponding opening in the top of the dispenser 9120 describedin more detail below.

The hopper may hold components to be dispensed (aka ingredients), suchas food ingredients, for example. The food ingredients may be frozen orfresh ingredients, either whole pieces or with different size cuts, forexample. In this example, the hopper includes a minor incline 9112 andmajor incline 9113. An upper opening in the top of the hopper 9110 maybe larger than the lower opening 9111 in the bottom of the hopper sothat the hopper can hold a larger amount of ingredients to be dispensed,for example. In this example, the major incline 9113 directs theingredients from at least one side of the hopper 9110 toward one side ofthe lower opening 9111 in the bottom of the hopper. Additionally, inthis example, the minor incline 9112 directs the ingredients from atleast another side of the hopper 9110 toward one side of the loweropening 9111 in the bottom of the hopper. Opening 9111 is exposed to adispenser unit 9120 to allow ingredients to smoothly flow from thehopper to the dispenser. In this example, the hopper 9110 may berectangular to allow multiple such structures to be placed adjacent toeach other for efficient dispensation of multiple ingredients usinglimited space along a particular surface (e.g, optimizing space whereunits are placed side-by-side for access by a robotic system).

FIG. 20 illustrates another view of a dispenser unit 9220 coupled to atrap unit 9230 according to another embodiment. This view illustratesthe rotational nature of a dispenser element 9221 and its configurationwithin the dispenser housing 9222 of the dispenser unit 9220. Hopperopening 9224 is aligned with an upper opening 9223 of dispenser 9220 sothat ingredients from the hopper may move into the channels createdbetween the dispenser element 9221 and dispenser housing 9222. Asdescribed in more detail below, the dispenser element 9221 is rotated(e.g., by a motor controlled by a computer) to move a controlled amountof ingredients through the channels and into a lower opening 9225 in thedispenser housing 9222 and into the trap unit 9230. In one embodiment,the lower opening 9225 of the dispenser 9222 is coupled to an upperopening in the trap 9230. The trap 9230 includes a flap 9231 comprisinga hole. As described in more detail below, in a first closed position,the hole may extend horizontally (side-to-side), and a sidewall of theflap 9231 forms a barrier between the upper opening of the trap 9230 tostop movement of ingredients from dispenser 9220, for example. In asecond open position, the hole may extend vertically (top-to-bottom) tocreate passage (or vertical channel) between the upper opening of thetrap 9230 and a lower opening of trap 9230 to allow movement ofingredients from dispenser 9220, through the trap 9230, and to aphysical interface where a receptacle may be positioned to receive theingredients exiting the trap, for example. In the following Figures anddescription, it is to be understood that dispenser 9220 may or may notinclude a transparent material 9250 (e.g., glass or plastic) to form awindow (here, circular) to view the operation of the dispenser element9221, for example.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example trap 9300. The trap 9300 includes a flap9310 which can be rotated to create a passage (or hole) 9320 from anupper opening to a lower opening of the trap. In one example embodiment,the trap is configured below the dispenser element such that when theflap is in a home position, the passage is closed and no amount of theingredients passes from the dispenser through the trap (the top openingis closed). In this example, the flap is a cylinder having a centralhollow region forming a rectangular hole 9320. When the flap is in afirst position where the rectangular hole is in a horizontal position,the trap is closed, and there is no pathway from an upper opening of thetrap to a lower opening of the trap. However, when the flap is in asecond position where the rectangular hole is rotated into a verticalposition, the trap is open, and there is a pathway from the upperopening of the trap to the lower opening of the trap. In one embodiment,the upper opening 9321 in the trap and the lower opening in the trap(not shown) are rectangular and approximately the same size (e.g.,aligned in position, size, and cross-sectional shape) as the rectangularhole in the flap to minimize the impedance of ingredients flowingthrough the trap, for example. In this example, the internal passage ofthe flap 9310 forms a rectangular chamber with rounded edges and theupper and lower trap openings have the same rectangular shape androunded edges to align with the hole in the flap. In another embodiment,the trap may be integrated with a weighing scale that provides feedback(e.g., to a server or a dispenser control unit) about the quantity ofproduct that has been dispensed.

FIG. 22 illustrates a dispenser unit 9400 according to one embodiment.The dispenser unit includes a housing 9410 and a dispenser element 9420.The dispenser element 9420 is coupled about a horizontal axis ofrotation 9401. The housing 9410 has an upper opening 9411 coupled to alower opening 9450 of the hopper (not shown) to receive ingredients anda lower opening 9412 in which the ingredients exit the dispenser. Thedotted line approximately indicates the proximate location of aninterface between opening 9450, which would be formed by the minor andmajor inclines at the bottom of the hopper (see FIG. 19 ), and the upperopening 9411 of the dispenser housing. In this example, the upperopening 9411 of dispenser 9400 has curved sloping surface 9430 from anouter opening to an edge forming an inner opening, which intersects withblades 9431 of the dispensing element 9420 as described below. Theblades 9431 also intersect with the hopper opening to open and closechannels through the dispenser unit from the hopper as described below.A rod may be coupled through the center of the dispenser element 9420and may be coupled to a stepper motor (not shown). The stepper motor maybe coupled to a controller (not shown) which may control the rotationalposition of the dispenser element, which controls the amount ofingredients dispensed as described below.

FIG. 23A illustrates the dispenser element 9500 according to oneembodiment. In this example, the dispenser element 9500 includes four(4) blades 9501-9504 which form first and second channels 9520 and 9521.In this example, the channels are in opposite quadrants on oppositesides of the dispenser element. The 4 blades emanate from a cylindricalbase 9510 about the horizontal axis 9501. The blades 9501-9504 emanatefrom the base 9510 at a number of degrees (e.g., 90 degrees) from eachother at a proximate end 9511 of the cylinder 9510. Two adjacent blades9501 and 9504 of the four blades 9501-9504 form the first channel 9520and the other two adjacent blades 9502 and 9503 of the four blades9501-9504 form the second channel 9521. Ingredients from the hopper mayflow from the top down (here, from the right to the left). The dispenserelement 9500 may be rotated back and forth (e.g., clockwise and thencounter clockwise) between first and second degrees (e.g., from 0 toless than 90 degrees and back) to control the flow of items from anupper opening in the dispenser housing through the first and secondchannels and to a lower opening in the housing (see FIG. 22 ). Asdescribed in more detail below, FIG. 23A illustrates opening 9550 formedby the blade 9501, a sidewall 9551 of the dispenser housing (not shown,but illustrated using a dashed line), and an edge 9552 of the loweropening in the hopper (also not shown but illustrated using a dashedline). A similar triangular shaped channel opening may be formed for thesecond channel 9521. As discussed below, the angle of rotation of thedispensing element may increase or decrease the size of channel openings9550 to control the amount of ingredients that flow into each channeland through the dispenser, for example.

In one embodiment, the first and second channels curve about thehorizontal axis such that the first and second channels shift by anumber of degrees (e.g., 90 degrees) from the proximate end 9511 (e.g.,the top in FIG. 23A) to the distal end 9512 (e.g., the bottom in FIG.23A of the dispenser element 500.

In one example embodiment, the hopper incorporates an agitationmechanism that periodically agitates the product in the dispenserwithout dispensing the product such that the product stays in state thatis easy to dispense. The frequency and the agitating mechanisms (e.g.,circular motion with different blades, impact force along the back wall,etc . . . ) may be controlled by a combination of local and cloudservers in concert with the type of product in the hopper, for example.

FIG. 23B illustrates another example dispenser element 91000 accordingto another embodiment. The dispenser element has a first channel 91020.Other embodiments may further include a symmetrical second channel in anopposite quadrant on the opposing side of the first channel. In oneembodiment, the first, or first and second, channels may operate similarto the dispenser element of FIG. 23A. However, different shapes of firstand second channels may be machined or molded such that the ingredientsare less likely to stick and flow more effectively.

FIG. 24 illustrates a dispenser element 9500 in a first thresholdposition in which the leading edge (here, blade 9504) of the firstchannel 9520 at the rear (and not visible) is at 0 degrees (relative toangle A). For example, blade 9504 of the first channel 9520 curves fromthe horizontal position in the front of the dispenser housing to thevertical position in the rear of the dispenser housing, where blade 9504may form a seal with incline 9112 (FIG. 19 ) at the edge of the opening9590 (opening 9111 in FIG. 19 ) defined by the hopper (See FIG. 26showing a top view where the upper blade 9504 of the first channel 9520is at the edge of the hopper opening 9590 and the first channel 9520 isclosed). Additionally, blade 9503 of the second channel 9521 curves fromthe vertical position in the front of the dispenser housing to thehorizontal position in the rear of the dispenser housing. Accordingly,blade 9503 is also at the edge of the opening 9590 defined by the hopperto form an opening 9550 (in FIG. 23A) into the second channel (See FIG.26 showing a top view where the upper blade 9503 of the second channel9521 is at the edge of the hopper opening 9590 and the second channel9521 is fully opened). As the dispensing element is rotated (e.g., firstclockwise and then counterclockwise) an input opening into the firstchannel may increase in size and the opening into the second channel maydecrease in size. As ingredients enter each channel they may movethrough a channel formed by the sidewalls of the blades and the sidewall9600 of the dispenser housing toward the lower opening in the dispenserhousing 9601.

FIG. 25 illustrates a dispenser element in a second threshold positionin which the leading edge of the second channel 9521 (blade 9503) at thefront (and visible) is at 0 degrees (relative to angle B). Since theupper blade 9503 of the second channel 9521 is adjacent to the upperopening of the dispensing unit, the second channel is closed in thisposition (See FIG. 27 ). More specifically, blade 9504 of the firstchannel 9520 curves from the shown position in the front of thedispenser housing to a position in line with the front position of blade9503 (90 degrees) in the rear of the dispenser housing, where blade 9504is at a second edge of the opening 9590 defined by the hopper (See FIG.27 showing a top view where the upper blade 9504 of the first channel9520 is at a second edge of the hopper opening 9590 and the firstchannel 9520 is fully opened). Note that embodiments of the disclosuremay include blades that are long enough to intersect the edge of thehopper incline 9112 (FIG. 19 ) to seal the first channel, for example.Additionally, blade 9503 of the second channel 9521 curves from shownposition in the front of the dispenser housing (zero degrees relative toangle B) to a position in line with the front position of blade 9502 (90degrees) in the rear of the dispenser housing. Accordingly, blade 9503is also at the same edge of the opening 9590 as the rear portion ofblade 9504 (e.g., the edge of the opening 9590 defined by the dispenserhousing, See FIG. 27 showing a top view where the upper blade 9503 ofthe second channel 9521 is at the edge of the hopper opening 9590 andthe second channel 9521 is fully closed). As the dispensing element isrotated (e.g., first counterclockwise and then clockwise) an inputopening into the second channel may increase in size and the openinginto the first channel may decrease in size.

FIG. 26 illustrates a top view of a dispenser apparatus according to oneembodiment. FIG. 26 shows a dispenser unit view through the top of ahopper 9110 in the first threshold position shown in FIG. 24 . Theposition of the blade corresponds to FIG. 24 , or with reference to FIG.25 to a configuration where the dispensing element is rotated alongangle B approximately 40-45 degrees which creates an opening minor B9550 which would allow ingredients to fall into the second channel 9521.In this position, the first channel 9520 may be close or have an openingso small that no ingredients may enter, for example. However, therotation that opens the second channel 9521 to the upper opening of thehousing (e.g., hopper opening 9224) also creates an opening in the firstchannel to the lower opening of the housing 9601 (see FIGS. 24-25 ),allowing items to flow out of the first channel 9520. Additionally,dispensing element 9500 may be rotated such that there may be positionsin which both the first and second channels have upper openingssimultaneously. The size of the opening minor B for the second channelis approximately the same size as the lower opening for the firstchannel. Accordingly, the size of these openings, as set by the angle ofrotation by a motor, for example, may be used to control the amount ofitems that flow through the channels.

FIG. 27 illustrates a top view of a dispenser apparatus according to oneembodiment. FIG. 27 shows a dispenser unit view through the top of ahopper 9110 in the second threshold position shown in FIG. 25 . Theposition of the blade corresponds to FIG. 25 , or with reference to FIG.24 a configuration where the dispensing element is rotated along angle Aapproximately 40-45 degrees which creates an opening minor A 9551 whichwould allow ingredients to fall into the first channel 9520 but not thesecond channel. Since no ingredients can enter the second channel, flowthrough the second channel is stopped. Additionally, referring again toFIG. 25 , ingredients may enter the first channel but flow is stoppedbecause the sidewalls of the dispensing unit housing extend at least 90degrees between an upper opening of the housing and a lower opening ofthe housing. As shown in FIG. 25 the lower blade 9501 of the firstchannel 9520 is adjacent to the edge of the housing sidewall 9600,thereby forming a seal in the first channel that prevents the flow ofitems from the upper opening to the lower opening of the dispensingunit. According, given the symmetry of the present example, when eitherthe first or second channels are fully opened at the top of thedispensing unit to receive ingredients, they are also fully closed atthe bottom of the dispensing unit to prevent ingredients from exitingthe dispenser. Conversely, when either the first or second channels arefully closed at the top of the dispensing unit, they are also fullyopened at the bottom of the dispensing unit so that ingredients may exitthe dispenser. Similarly, the size of one input opening for one channelis typically the same size as an output opening of the other channel inthis example.

Referring to FIGS. 24-27 , the dynamic operation of the dispenser is asfollows. Referring to FIG. 24 , the first channel 9520 may beselectively rotated into a position between 40 and 80 degrees from thefirst threshold position (e.g., in the direction of angle A)corresponding to a variable opening between the first channel 9520 andthe opening 9590 (See FIG. 27 showing the first channel forming anopening 9551 in the dispenser housing and bottom of the hopper). Thisallows a first amount of the ingredients to enter the first channel. Ifthe angle of rotation is less than 45 degrees (A<45 degrees), forexample, based on the configuration of the particular lower opening ofthe dispenser housing, the dispenser element may be in a positionallowing the first amount of ingredients to exit the first channel andfall into the trap. This is illustrated in FIG. 24 , for example, wherethe lower vertical blade 9501 of the first channel maintains an openingto the trap up to about 45 degrees, where blade 9501 intersects an edgeof the lower opening 9601 in the dispenser housing and the first channel9520 becomes closed at the bottom.

Referring to FIG. 25 , the second channel 9521 may be selectivelyrotated into a position between 40 and 80 degrees, for example, from thesecond threshold position (e.g., in the direction of angle B)corresponding to a variable opening between the second channel and theopening in the housing (See FIG. 26 showing the second channel formingan opening 9550 in the dispenser housing and bottom of the hopper). Thisallows a second amount of the ingredients to enter the second channel.If the angle of rotation is less than 45 degrees (B<45 degrees), forexample, based on the configuration of the particular dispenser housinglower opening, the dispenser element may be in a position allowing asecond amount of ingredients to fall out of the second channel and intothe trap.

In one example embodiment, the first and second channels are selectivelyrotated into a home position, which may be the position shown in FIG. 25, for example. In the home position, no amount of the ingredients passesthrough the dispenser unit. In one embodiment, the first and secondopenings created by moving the dispenser element clockwise and counterclockwise are configured to be the same so that approximately equalportions pass through each channel. The angle of rotation may furthercontrol the amount flowing into each channel, for example.

Advantageously, as mentioned above, the size of the channel inputs maybe varied so that the system reliably delivers different amounts ofrepeatable quantities of ingredients. For example, one or morerotational movements may deliver a first amount of ingredients for afirst use, and another one or more rotational movements may deliver asecond amount of ingredients for a second use. This is particularlyadvantageous where the dispenser is used to dispense solid food itemsfor consecutive orders which may use different amounts of ingredients,for example.

FIG. 29 illustrates a fully automated computer controlled dispensersystem according to an embodiment. This example illustrates a hopperunit 91100 coupled to a dispenser unit 91101, coupled to a trap unit91102. Ingredients in the hopper move into the dispenser unit andthrough the trap as described above. The dispenser element in thedispenser unit may be controlled by a motor 91111 and a flap in trapunit 91102 may be controlled by a motor 91102, for example. Motors 91111and 91112 are coupled to a controller 91110, which receives instructionsfrom a server (e.g., local server 91130). Instructions from server 91130may include an amount of ingredients to dispense, for example, which mayhave been received as part of are recipe from cloud server 91140, forexample. The amount may be converted into a particular number of backand forth movements of the motor 91111 to move a dispenser element todispense the amount in the instruction. In this example, a receptacle91103 is placed (e.g., by a robotic arm) in a physical interface 91104to receive ingredients that flow through the dispenser and through thetrap. The receptacle 91103 may be placed on a scale 91105 to measure theweight of ingredients dispensed. Scale 91105 sends the weight of thedispensed ingredients to controller 91110 to form a feedback loopcausing motor 91111 to rotate dispensing element to dispense moreingredients until a desired weight is obtained. In one embodiment, theweight measured on the scale is sent from the controller to the server,and the server continues to issue updated amounts to dispense until adesired weight is obtained, for example. For example, the controller mayprovide a feedback signal to the server with a weight measured by thescale such that the server responds to the weight of ingredients withinthe receptacle to configure the controller to dispense an updated weightof ingredients (e.g., a final weight less the weight measured by thescale). Motor 91112 may rotate the flap to configure trap 91102 in theopen position at the beginning of a dispense operation, for example, andmay configure trap 91102 in the closed position after a desired weightis obtained. For example, in response to a command from the server tothe controller to dispense, the controller configures the motor to openthe trap, and the controller closes the trap prior to responding to theserver that the dispense operation is completed. Finally, this exampleillustrates the use of an agitator 91113 coupled to controller 91110.Agitator 91113 may include an electrical vibrator activated bycontroller 91110 to create vibrations in the hopper 91110 so thatingredients do not stick to the sidewalls or inclines of the hopper, forexample.

Referring again to FIG. 25 , in one embodiment, a second position arotational difference from the home position (shown in FIG. 25 ) may bedetermined by a predetermined calibration factor corresponding to atleast a size of the first channel, a desired amount of the ingredients,and/or a cut size of the ingredients, for example. This calibrationfactor may also include other positions as well. The calibration factormay comprise different values downloaded from a cloud server over theinternet based on different ingredients of different sizes, for example.For instance, ingredients may be pineapple which has a chef's cut. Fruitof this cut may have been empirically characterized at the factory and atable of values may be ready for sending to each dispenser apparatus. Inone embodiment, an initial calibration factor is loaded from the serverto the controller to set a rotation value (e.g., amount of rotation fora given amount of a particular ingredient) and a cycle value (e.g.,number of back and forth cycle) to deliver the desired weight of theitems.

Additionally, different cut sizes of different ingredients may havedifferent size dispenser elements. For example, a larger cut size mayhave a cylindrical base with a smaller radius and blades withcorrespondingly larger heights, where another smaller cut size may havea cylindrical base with a larger radius and blades with correspondinglysmaller heights. Accordingly, in one embodiment, for a first size ofitems, the cylinder has a first diameter and the blades have a firstradial length. In another embodiment, for a second size of items greaterthan the first size of items, the cylinder has a second diameter and theblades have a second radial length. The first diameter is greater thanthe second diameter and the first radial length is less than the secondradial length.

In one embodiment, the dispenser element agitates (rotates back andforth) between two predefined positions to provide first and secondamounts of ingredients. The two positions may be symmetrical because, asmentioned above, the input opening size of one channel at the upperopening may correspond to an output opening size of the other channel atthe lower opening. This allows for alternating first and second channeldispensing of ingredients in succession. This may provide for nearlyequal quantized portions of the ingredient to be dispensed from eachchannel into the lower opening of the dispenser unit and through thetrap, for example.

In yet another embodiment the first amount of an ingredient is anincremental amount, and the dispenser element agitates between the twopositions through a predetermine number of cycles to provide a finalamount of the ingredient.

In one embodiment, the dispenser apparatus includes a scale to measurethe weight of the first amount of ingredients after falling out of thefirst channel. In one embodiment, a receptacle is situated to receivethe items exiting the trap and a scale is situated to measure the weightof the receptacle and items located within the receptacle. In anotherembodiment, the value of weight is used to control the motor coupled tothe dispensing element to dispense a final amount of the ingredientsspecified in an instruction received from the local server, for example.

In yet another embodiment, a controller is coupled to control a motor(e.g., a stepper motor) coupled to open and close the trap, and a serveris coupled to the controller. In response to an instruction from theserver to the controller to dispense, for example, the controller opensthe trap, and the controller closes the trap prior to responding to theserver that the dispense operation is completed.

In one embodiment, the scale provides a feedback signal to thecontroller such that the dispenser element responds to the weight ofitems within the receptacle in a local feedback loop to deliver adesired weight of the items. In another embodiment, a feedback loopbetween the dispenser and the local server may fine tune the weight ofitems in the receptacle.

In another embodiment, the dispenser apparatus includes a server coupledto the controller. An initial calibration factor is loaded from theserver to the controller to begin an initial rotation value and cyclevalue to deliver the desired weight of the items.

Example Granulated Dispenser

In one embodiment, one or more remote devices include a granulateddispenser. Thus, the present disclosure further relates to dispensing,and in particular, to granular dispenser apparatuses, systems, andmethods for same.

FIG. 29 illustrates a granular dispenser apparatus according to oneembodiment. In this example, the apparatus includes a container 8101, acap 8102, a feeder housing 8103, a rod 8104, a motor 8105, and a stopper8106. The cap is coupled to the bottom of the container, and the feederhousing is coupled to the top of the container. The stopper is coupledto the motor via the rod and may be spring loaded against a ridge of thecap. The stopper and the cap may be round (or circular) in shape so thatthe stopper can rotate around an edge of the cap, for example. Asdescribed in the examples below, the stopper and cap may form aninterface comprising elements to alternately create seal and openings.The interface may include sawtooth forms and protrusions, where in afirst position the protrusions are between the sawtooth forms and thecap and stopper are sealed, and in a second position the protrusions areon top of the sawtooth forms to create openings between the cap andstopper so granular items in the container may flow out of thecontainer, for example. The actual spring (not shown) may be locatedwithin the feeder housing, for example. In one embodiment, the motor maybe a stepper motor, for example.

Granulated components are placed into the container via a feeder opening8107 of the feeder housing. Example granulated components may includepowders or larger granulated items, for example. The container holds thegranulated components which will be dispensed. In a home position, theridge of the cap forms a seal with the stopper, thereby preventing thegranulated components from exiting the container from the cap. When themotor is engaged, the rod turns and the stopper is rotated. Protrusionson the surface of the stopper engage sloped portions of a ridge on thecap to form a plurality of openings as described in more detail below.Accordingly, the granulated components in the container pass through theopenings.

FIG. 30 illustrates an upper section of the granular dispenser apparatusof FIG. 1 . FIG. 30 shows the feeder housing 8103 coupled to thecontainer 8101 and the rod 8104 extending through the container. Thefeeder housing includes a feeder opening 8107 which allows thegranulated components to be fed into the container. A feeder housingincludes a top (or lid) 8108 to seal the granulated components withinthe container. The motor 8105 is coupled to the feeder housing to holdthe motor in place. The rod is coupled to the drive shaft of the motorthrough the feeder housing.

FIGS. 31A-C illustrate an example stopper 8300 according to oneembodiment. FIG. 31A shows a 3 dimensional view of the stopper. Thestopper forms a conical surface comprising a plurality of verticalprotrusions (the protrusions are outlined in FIG. 31A). FIG. 31B shows atop view of the example stopper 8300. In this example, the stopper has 6protrusions 8310-8315 curving from a central elongated portion 8301 ofthe stopper to a lower portion 8302. The stopper may be rotated indirection B (e.g., by the motor) to create openings and dispense as thestopper rotates around an edge of the cap. Protrusions 8310-8315 may beraised above the surface of lower portion 8302 to create openings whenengaging the cap as described in more detail below. In this example, theprotrusions are rounded. Additionally, in one embodiment, theprotrusions may bend or curve away from the direction of rotation at anangle A to advantageously create a sweeping effect to move granulateditems or powder from the container into the openings, for example. FIG.31C illustrates another view of the stopper 8300 with the protrusions(the protrusions are outlined in FIG. 31C). The stopper includes anupper elongated portion 8301 which may be cylindrical or slightlyconical, for example. A lower portion 8302 of the stopper comprises aconical portion. The lower conical portion 8302 includes the conicalsurface comprising the plurality of vertical protrusions that extendabove the conical surface, for example. The sloping aspect of theconical surface may further advantageously help granulated componentsmove toward the edges of the stopper and out through the openingscreated when the stopper is rotated by the motor, for example. Asfurther illustrated in FIGS. 31A-C, the top of stopper 8300 includes ahole 8360 for coupling to the rod, for example.

FIG. 32A-B illustrates an example cap 8400 according to one embodiment.In this example, a round cap includes a sawtooth ridge. In this example,the sawtooth ridge includes a plurality of sawtooth forms 8410 and aplurality of base portions 8411 between adjacent sawtooth forms. Thevertical protrusions of the stopper (FIG. 31A-C) mate to the baseportion of the sawtooth ridge of the cap in a home position to form aseal with the stopper. When the stopper is rotated, the verticalprotrusions of the stopper (FIG. 31A-C) engage the sloped portion of thesawtooth forms to produce a plurality of openings. The stopper is liftedaway from the ridge 8401 of the cap, while being pulled toward the capridge by the spring loaded rod, to create openings. The openings may beformed by the protrusions being lifted by the sloped portion of thesawtooth forms to move the conical surface of the stopper away from thecap. The openings reach their maximum size when the protrusions are atthe top of the sawtooth forms as further illustrated in FIGS. 34A-Bbelow. Accordingly, the sawtooth forms and protrusions are one examplemeans for alternately forming a seal and one or more openings betweenthe cap and the stopper.

Comparing FIG. 31A-C with FIGS. 32A-B, it can be seen that the number ofsawtooth forms on the ridge of the cap and the number of verticalprotrusions on the stopper may not be one-to-one. Rather, in thisexample, there are six (6) vertical protrusions on the stopper andtwelve (12) sawtooth forms on the ridge of the cap. As the stopper isrotated, the protrusions cause openings to form between the stopper andthe ridge of the cap (e.g., the protrusions and the sawtooth forms liftthe stopper away from the ridge of the cap). The sawtooth forms alsoperform a second function. Every time a protrusion is moved up asawtooth and then drops back into a base portion, pulled back by thespring loaded rod, a perturbation occurs (i.e., an agitation orvibration), which advantageously prevents or breaks up the granulatedcomponents from sticking together or otherwise blocking the flow fromthe container out through the openings between the stopper and cap. Insome embodiments, the protrusions on the stopper may not come in directcontact with the base portions 8411, but rather a portion of the stoppersurface (e.g., at an edge) is depressed against the lip (or edge) of thecap 8400 when the protrusions of the stopper mate with the base portionsof the cap, thus sealing the container.

FIG. 32B illustrates the cap of FIG. 32A at another angle. The arrowsindicate 3 of the sloped portions 8410-8412 of the ridge 8401. Thesawtooth ridge includes a plurality of sloped portions (as outlined)interspersed with a plurality of base portions. As mentioned above, theplurality of protrusions of the stopper (FIG. 31B) may be less than theplurality of base portions of the cap, but the location of theprotrusions may match the locations of a set of base portions of the capin order for the cap to mate uniformly with the stopper when notrotating. In this example, having double the number of sawtooth formscompared to the number of protrusions increases the frequency ofagitations. Since the protrusions fit into the base between eachsawtooth form (to form a seal between the cap and the stopper andprevent flow), there may be the same number of sawtooth ridges betweeneach of the protrusions, for example. Thus, other embodiments may havefewer or more sawtooth forms between each protrusion (e.g., 1, 3, etc .. . ), where the number of sawtooth forms between each protrusioncorresponds to a frequency of agitation, and the height of the sawtoothforms corresponds to a size of opening created and a strength ofagitation.

FIG. 33A-B illustrate another example stopper 8500 according to anotherembodiment. FIG. 33A illustrates a top view of the stopper. The stopper8500 includes an elongated portion and a conical portion. The conicalportion includes a conical surface broken up by gaps 8501-8506 betweensix fingers 8510-8516 each having protrusions 8520-8526 arranged at anangle in a direction (veering) away from the direction (B) of rotationas described for the stopper in FIG. 31B. FIG. 33B illustrates a3-dimensional view of the stopper 8500. The stopper has gap openings8501-8506 between the fingers 8510-8516. The protrusions may be morepronounced than the stopper of FIG. 31A-C. The more pronouncedprotrusions increase the size of the openings when the protrusions moveup the slope of the sawtooth forms on the ridge of the cap, for example.The gaps in the conical surface may also help to increase flow. Forexample, the larger the gap, higher the volume/flow rate and easier itis to dispense sticky powders (which tend to be fine powders) orsubstances with larger granularities.

FIG. 34A-B illustrate the movement of the stopper in relation to thesawtooth forms on the ridge of the cap according to one embodiment. Thesawtooth ridge includes the sawtooth (e.g., a ramp) and base portions.FIG. 34A illustrates a linear depiction of the stopper in relation tothe sawtooth ridge in which the protrusion is mated with the baseportion of the sawtooth ridge. When rotated, the stopper will move theprotrusion in direction (B). FIG. 34B illustrates a linear depiction ofthe stopper in relation to the sawtooth after the stopper has beenrotated and the protrusion has moved in direction (B). As a result theprotrusion has been pushed up the ramp of the sawtooth and the stopperhas separated from the cap by a distance (C). This distance (C) maycause a plurality of openings to form between the protrusions and allowthe granular items to exit the container. In another embodiment, theprotrusion does not come in direct contact with the base portion, butrather a lip (or edge) of the stopper is depressed against a lip (oredge) of the cap when the protrusions of the stopper mate with the baseportions of the cap.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the angle of rotation of the stoppercontrols an amount of the granulated components that pass through theopenings. For example, a 90 degree rotation of the stopper may result ina first amount of granulated components to be dispensed, while a 360degree rotation of the cap may result in a second larger amount ofgranulated components to be dispensed, for example. As mentioned above,the dispenser apparatus further comprises a motor coupled to the stopperfor rotating the stopper. The motor may be configured to rotate apredetermined amount to dispense a corresponding amount of ingredients,for example.

In one embodiment, protrusions extend along a length of the conicalsurface along an upper portion of the stopper, and wherein theprotrusions curve along a lower portion of the stopper. In anotherembodiment, the protrusions curve in a direction opposite to thedirection of rotation to guide the granulated components through theopenings. The curve of the protrusions may occur at the intersection ofthe upper portion and a conical portion as illustrated in FIGS. 31A-Cand 33A-B, for example.

In one embodiment, the granulated components are granulated food items.Example granulated food items may include powders (e.g., protein powdersor other powdered food supplements), seeds (e.g., Chia seeds), and awide range of other granulated food products, for example.

In another embodiment, the size of the vertical protrusions and the sizeof the sawtooth ridge may be different for different items. Larger itemswith larger granularities may have a larger sized vertical protrusionsand/or larger sized sawtooth ridge, for example, than smaller itemshaving smaller vertical protrusions and a smaller sized sawtooth ridge,for example.

In yet another embodiment, the motor is a direct current (DC) motor andan ON time of the DC motor corresponds to an amount of the granulatedcomponents that pass through the openings.

In one embodiment, a periodic closing of the stopper vibrates thegranulated components within the container, which advantageouslyprevents granulated components from sticking together or getting jammedand facilitates a steady flow of ingredients, for example. As mentionedabove, the height of the sawtooth, the height of the protrusions fromthe conical surface, and/or the strength of the spring may contribute tothe impact of the stopper closing onto the cap, and thereby govern theamount of vibration or agitation, for example.

Example Delivery System

In one embodiment, one or more remote devices include a delivery system.Thus, the present disclosure further relates to moving items, and inparticular, to apparatuses, systems, and methods for delivering an itemacross a surface.

FIGS. 35-43 illustrate various embodiments of a delivery system.Features and advantages of the present disclosure include apparatuses,systems, and methods for moving items. In one embodiment, the presentdisclosure pertains to an apparatus comprising a mechanical guide, amovable unit, an engaging unit, and paired magnetic field generatingelements and magnetically responsive elements. The movable unit iscoupled to the guide. The movable unit travels along the path of thefirst surface defined by the guide. The movable unit and the guide maybe configured to mount to the first surface, for example. The engagingunit is configured to couple to a second surface separated from thefirst surface by a thickness. For example, the second surface may be anupper surface of a counter, the first surface may be a lower surface ofthe counter, and the counter may have a thickness. The engaging unit isconfigured to engage an item on the upper surface (e.g., along thepath), for example. One or more magnetic field generating elements areadjacent to one of the upper or lower surfaces to produce a magneticfield that penetrates the lower surface, the thickness, and the uppersurface. The one or more magnetic field generating elements may bemounted to one of the movable unit or engaging unit and configured togenerate a binding force in one or more magnetically responsive elementsmounted to the other of the movable unit or engaging unit. Accordingly,when the movable unit travels along the path on the lower surface, thebinding force moves the engaging unit along a corresponding upper pathon the upper surface, for example. The engaging unit moves an item alonga least a portion of the upper path, for example.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example implementation of a delivery system 3500according to an embodiment. As mentioned above, in one exampleapplication the first surface 3501 is a lower surface of a counter, thesecond surface 3502 is an upper surface of the counter, and thethickness (t) is a thickness of a counter. The delivery system 3500 maybe used to deliver items across a counter, such as food items, forexample. In one example embodiment, the counter may include a window orother barrier 3503 with an opening 3504. Movable unit 3510 may becoupled to a guide 3515 having a proximate end 3516 and a distal end3517, which defines the path 3505 of the movable unit 3510. The path mayextend through the opening 3504 in the barrier 3503 to deliver an item3506 outside the barrier as illustrated in FIG. 35 . For example, in oneapplication the item is a cup, a tray, or other mechanism for deliveringfood items, for example.

FIGS. 35-43 illustrate alternative embodiments with various overlappingand distinct features. Referring to FIG. 35 , in one embodiment, themovable unit 3510 comprises a substantially flat surface configuredadjacent to the lower surface 3501 (e.g., a car or platform positionedjust below the lower surface of a counter). Similarly, the engaging unit3511 may have a substantially flat surface configured adjacent to theupper surface 3502 (e.g., a puck in FIG. 35 or a lazy susan in FIG. 36configured on the upper surface of a counter). The engaging unit 3511may further comprise means for reducing friction as the engaging unitmoves along the upper surface. In one embodiment, means for reducingfriction may comprise rolling-elements, for example. For instance, therolling-elements may be coupled to the engaging unit and extend betweenthe engaging unit and the upper surface. In one example embodiment, therolling-elements comprise one or more wheels 4010 (FIG. 40 ) configuredin the direction of movement along the path of the upper surface. Inanother embodiment, the rolling-elements comprise one or more ballbearings, for example.

As mentioned above, the magnetic field generating elements andmagnetically responsive elements produce a binding force holding theengaging unit to the upper surface. The binding force also moves theengaging unit when the movable unit is moved along the path on the lowersurface (e.g., linearly or rotationally). The magnetic field may begenerated using any known techniques. In one example embodiment, themagnetic field generating element is a magnet and the magneticallyresponsive element is an element attracted to the magnet. Referringagain to FIG. 35 , in another embodiment, the movable unit 3510comprises at least one magnet 3520 and the engaging unit 3511 comprisesat least one magnet 3521 to produce the binding force, for example. Inthis case, magnets serve as both magnetic field generating elements andmagnetically responsive elements, for example.

Features and advantages of the present disclosure include an engagingunit that includes a mechanism for engaging an item. The item is thenmoved by moving the movable unit on an opposite surface, which may behidden from view to create the appearance that the engaging unit anditem are moving by themselves, for example. In one embodiment, theengaging unit comprises means for engaging the item, which may include acradle 3512 to push and hold the item or a holding platform forrepositioning the item (e.g., such as a carousel or lazy susan), forexample. An example cradle 3512 is illustrated in FIG. 35 , which showsa side view and tope view of engaging unit 3511. Features and advantagesof the present disclosure may include an engaging unit having a shapeconfigured to push objects towards the engaging unit when the object andengaging unit are out of alignment. For example, if a cup is not placedin center of the engaging unit's path, the shape of the engaging unitmay be designed such that it will move the cup to the center. FIGS. 39and 40 further illustrate a configuration for an engaging unit having acrescent shape for engaging an item to achieve this result, for example.In this example, the curvature of the engaging unit (e.g., a crescent)matches that of the object being pushed (e.g., a cup).

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in conjunctionwith a robotic system, such as a robotic arm, to deliver items operatedon by the robotic system and other devices, for example. In oneembodiment, the path of the moveable unit and engaging unit overlaps areach of a robotic system (e.g., a maximum reach or a radius of arobotic arm). Referring to FIGS. 35-36 , a robotic arm may have amaximum radius 3590, for example, and a first portion of the engagingunit's path includes a first predetermined position 3530 (e.g., wherethe robotic arm places an item). Thus, the first predetermined position3530 may overlap a reach of the robotic arm. A second portion of thepath includes a second predetermined position 3531 (e.g., where thedelivery system delivers the item), which may be outside the reach ofthe robotic arm, for example.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may include a mounting unitcoupled to the guide to mount the guide to the lower surface, which maybe hidden under a surface of a counter, for example. FIG. 37 illustratesan example mounting unit 3710 and for a delivery system according to oneembodiment. In one embodiment, the mounting unit 3710 comprises aplurality of mounting brackets 3711A-D and a plurality of mounting posts3712A-D. In one example embodiment, the mounting brackets each have asurface parallel to the lower surface to attach to the lower surface(e.g., with a screw or bolt). Various example mounting units, posts, andbrackets are illustrated in FIGS. 35, 37, and 42 , for example.Referring again to FIG. 37 , the mounting posts 3712A-D are coupled tothe mechanical guide 3715 using crossbars 3713A-B, and a length (L) ofthe mounting posts sets a distance, d2 (FIG. 35 ), between the lowersurface and one of the magnetic field generating elements ormagnetically responsive elements in the moveable unit. Referring againto FIG. 35 , the mounting posts and thickness (e.g., of the counter)also set the distance, d1, between magnetic field generating elementsand magnetically responsive elements on opposite surfaces because theengaging unit may lie substantially on the upper surface. In someembodiments, the distance, d2, and the magnetic field set the bindingforce above a first threshold, where the first threshold is configuredto move the engaging unit and the item so that the engaging unit doesnot break free of the binding force. The values of magnetic field anddistance, d2, required to meet this strength requirement are a matter ofdesign choice based on the frictional forces of the surface, theengaging unit design, and the items to be moved. In some applications,the distance, d2, and the magnetic field may also set the binding forcebelow a second threshold, where the second threshold is configured toprovide safe manual coupling of the engaging unit to and from the uppersurface. For example, the binding force should be strong enough to movethe item, but not so strong that it is impossible for a user to removethe engaging unit from a countertop or that the binding force snaps orgrabs the engaging unit with such strength as to injure maintenanceworkers or customers, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 35 , in one embodiment, a motor 3570 may beconfigured to move the movable unit 3510 along the guide 3515, forexample. In one example implementation illustrated in FIG. 35 , acontrol unit (aka controller) 3571 may be coupled to the motor 3570 forcontrolling movement of the movable unit 3510. The controller mayfurther be coupled to a local server 3572, for example. Accordingly, inresponse to an instruction from the local server, the controllerconfigures the motor to move the movable unit from a first position to asecond position along the lower path 3532. Accordingly, the engagingunit 3521 is moved along a corresponding upper path 3533. As mentionedabove, in one embodiment, the upper path comprises a first predeterminedposition for receiving an item and extends to a second predeterminedposition for delivering the item.

FIGS. 35 and 37-41 are example embodiments where the mechanical guide isa rail and the movable unit is a car that moves along the rail. The railmay form a straight line path or a curved path, for example. Asillustrated in FIG. 35 , a motor 3570 receives control signals from thecontrol unit 3571, which may be responsive to instructions from a localserver 3572, for example. The motor 3570 is coupled to a pulley systemincluding pulleys 3578 and 3579, which are arranged on a proximate end3516 and distal end 3517 of the rail, for example. A belt 3537configured around the pulleys is attached to the car (moveable unit3510) and motor 3570 is coupled to pulley 3578. While this exampleillustrates the drive mechanism as a belt, it is to be understood thatbelt 3537 may be any linear or circular drive mechanism for move themovable unit. Accordingly, as the motor 3570 turns, pulley 3578 at theproximate end of the rail, the belt rotates around the pulley 3579 atthe distal end of the rail. Movement of the belt causes the car to moveback and forth along the rail under control of the motor. The car mayhave wheels (e.g., with tires 3577) or other rolling-elements configuredto engage a track of the rail to move the car smoothly along the rail,for example.

Referring again to the example in FIG. 37 , a motor 3750 drives a pulley3751. A second pulley 3752 is configured on an opposite end of themechanical guide (e.g., a rail) 3715 and a belt (not shown) may beconfigured around the pulleys in line with the rail. Guide 3715 mayinclude an opening 3755 (or hole) running the length of the guide suchthat a portion of the belt may be above the guide and attached to thecar, while another portion of the belt may return from pulley 3752 topulley 3751 inside the opening 3755, for example.

FIGS. 38 and 39 illustrate top and side views of an example movable unit3800 and rail 3810. In this example, movable unit 3800 is approximatelysquare with a forward portion comprising magnets 3822A-B arrangedperpendicular to rail 3810. Rail 3810 may be mounted to crossbar 3851,and crossbar 3851 is coupled to mounting unit 3850A-B as mentionedabove, for example. Movable unit 3800 may comprise a substantially flatsurface 3820 for moving close to a surface (e.g., the lower surface of acounter). Screws 3821 may hold the flat surface to underlying componentsof the movable unit as well as holding magnets 3822A-B to the unit. FIG.39 illustrates a side view of the movable unit. In this view, it can beseen how a belt 3900 is configured around pulley 3751 and attached (at3901) to movable unit 3800 so that motor 3750 can control the movementof the car back and forth along the rail in response to electricalcontrol signals over wires 3752 from a controller, for example. Thisside view of movable unit 3800 further illustrates two wheels (or tires)3810, on each side, engaging a track 3811 in the guide 3810 to alloweasy movement along the guide. FIG. 39 further illustrates a flat uppersurface 3820 which may be approximately coplanar with an upper surfaceof magnets 3822 so that the magnets on the movable unit may beconfigured close to one surface to magnetically engage elements of anengaging unit on an opposite surface, for example. In this example,surface 3820 may comprise a recessed area 3802 configured to receivemagnets 3822 such that the thickness of the magnets results in the uppersurface of the magnets being approximately coplanar with surface 3820.

In the example shown in FIG. 35 , the moveable unit 3510 may have twomagnets arranged perpendicular to the direction of the lower path(movable unit top view), and the engaging unit 3521 may include twocorresponding magnets arranged perpendicular to the direction of thecorresponding upper path (engaging unit top view) to prevent rotation ofthe engaging unit as it moves along the upper path, for example. Asmentioned above, the engaging unit 3511 may further comprise a cradle3512 arranged perpendicular to the upper surface for engaging a sidewallof the item 3506, for example. The engaging unit may be a crescentshaped puck, for example, to engage round objects (e.g., a cup) asillustrated in the top view of the engaging unit shown in FIG. 35 aswell as in the other example embodiments shown in FIGS. 40-41 , forexample.

FIGS. 40 and 41 illustrate a top view and bottom view of an exampleengaging unit 4000 according to an embodiment. FIG. 40 illustrates thatan example engaging unit may have a crescent shape for engaging a cup orother round object, for example. FIG. 41 illustrates some components ofan example engaging unit 4000 (aka, “puck”). Puck 4000 may comprise alower plate 4030 attached to the puck using screws 4031, for example.Under the plate, inside the puck, are two magnets 4020 and 4021, forexample. The magnets are arranged perpendicular to the cradle 4050 andthe direction of motion 4001 of the puck. The plate 4030 may comprise arecessed region 4011 for receiving wheels (or a roller) 4010, which areconfigured so that the wheels roll in the direction of motion 4001 ofpuck 4000 along the path to reduce friction as mentioned above. Wheels4010 may comprise an axel 4012 snapped into a receiving portion of therecessed region, for example, or otherwise attached to puck 4000, forexample.

Referring again to FIG. 35 , it can be seen that the lower path 3532 ofthe movable unit 3510 on the guide 3515 may be slightly different thanthe upper path 3533 of the item placed adjacent to the engaging unit3511 on the opposite surface. For example, the path of the movable unitand engaging unit may start from an initial position and move across afirst predetermined position 3530 where the item is picked up orengaged. The movable unit and engaging unit may move to a final positionto move the item from the first predetermined position to a secondpredetermined position 3531, where the second predetermined position isadjacent to the final position of the engaging unit and movable unit,for example.

FIGS. 36, 42-43 illustrate another embodiment. In these examples, themovable unit rotates adjacent to one surface (e.g., under a counter) anda corresponding engaging unit rotates on the other surface (e.g., abovethe counter). As illustrated in FIG. 36 , one example movable unit 3610is a platform that rotates around an axel 3611. The axel may be drivenby a motor 3612, for example, under the control of a control unit 3613and server 3614 as described above. Accordingly, in this example, themechanical guide is the axel and the path is a rotational path aroundthe axel, for example. The movable unit may be mounted under a surface3601 using a mounting unit (not shown in FIG. 36 ) similar to that shownfor the rail embodiment, where posts may set the distance between themagnets on the movable unit and the lower surface, for example.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 36, 42-43 , the movable unit 3610 is around platform comprising a plurality of magnets 3620-3623 arranged in apattern around the platform along (e.g., in a circle). The engaging unit3630 configured on upper surface 3602 may be a carousel (referred toherein as a “lazy susan”), for example, comprising a plurality ofmagnets 3640-3643 arranged to meet the plurality of magnets 3620-3623 inthe movable unit 3610 and form a binding force, for example. In oneexample embodiment, the lazy susan has an outer annulus 3631 thatrotates and an inner circle 3632 that is stationary. A second movableunit, guide, and engaging unit (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 35 and37-41 ) form an auxiliary path (“Aux Path”) 3690 and may be configuredto move items off the lazy susan as the outer annulus rotates todifferent positions, for example. For instance, the lazy susan may berotated to place an item in front of and along an auxiliary (Aux) pathof a puck 3650. The delivery system may engage the puck to move the itemoff the lazy susan to a second predetermined position 3651 fordelivering the item for pick up, for example. Other embodiments may useadditional auxiliary paths to move items off a lazy susan, for example.

FIGS. 42 and 43 illustrate different views of an example rotationaldelivery system 4200. FIG. 42 illustrates an example movable unit,mounting unit, and motor system. In this example, movable unit 4210 is around platform comprising five (5) magnets 4211 arranged around thecircumference of the platform. The platform is rotated under control ofa motor 4220 that receives electrical control signals from a controlunit (not shown). Motor 4220 is coupled to an axel, and the axel iscoupled to the center of the movable unit platform. The mounting unitcomprises mounting brackets 4230, mounting posts 4231, and crossbars4232. Movable unit 4210 is coupled to the crossbars 4232, which in thisexample are also coupled to the mounting posts 4231. The mounting posts4231 and mounting brackets 4230 are configured to attach the mountingunit on a surface such that the magnets of the movable unit 4210 arepositioned close to and approximately coplanar with the surface (e.g., alower surface of a counter). In this example, a position sensor 4250 maybe configured near an edge of the movable unit 4210 to sense arotational position of the platform, for example, which may be useful incontrolling and/or calibrating the precise position of the platform, forexample. FIG. 43 illustrates a side view of the rotational deliverysystem of FIG. 42 . FIG. 43 illustrates that motor 4220 is coupled toand may drive axel 4301 under control of electrical signals from acontroller. Motor 4220 may rotate axel, and thus movable unit 4210,clockwise or counterclockwise (or both) to any of a variety of angularpositions as desired to cause a corresponding engaging unit to deliveritems.

Example Computer System

FIG. 44 illustrates known elements of computer system hardwareconfigured according to the innovative techniques in the abovedisclosure. The following hardware description is merely oneillustrative example. It is to be understood that a variety of computerhardware topologies may be used to implement the above describedtechniques. An example server computer system 4410 is illustrated inFIG. 44 . Computer system 4410 includes a bus 4405 or othercommunication mechanism for communicating information, and one or moreprocessor(s) 4401 coupled with bus 4405 for processing information,including instructions received from a cloud server as described herein.Computer system 4410 also includes a memory 4402 coupled to bus 4405 forstoring information and instructions to be executed by processor 4401,including information and instructions for performing some of thetechniques described above, for example. Memory 4402 may also be usedfor storing programs executed by processor(s) 4401. Possibleimplementations of memory 4402 may be, but are not limited to, randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or both. A storage device4403 is also provided for storing information and instructions. Commonforms of storage devices include, for example, a hard drive, a magneticdisk, an optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a flash or other non-volatilememory, a USB memory card, or any other medium from which a computer canread. Storage device 4403 may include source code, binary code, orsoftware files for configuring the hardware to perform the techniquesabove, for example. Storage device 4403 and memory 4402 are bothexamples of non-transitory computer readable storage mediums. Computersystems including one or more processors, memory, storage, and a networkinterface may be used across a wide range of applications, includingdata centers 4431 for cloud computing, local hardware servers 4410, andremote devices 4421, for example. In one embodiment, one or more ofcloud server computers 4431 may reside in a cloud computing environment,for example, and may include storage devices, processors, and memorylike computer 4410 for executing instruction to perform the cloudoperating system and control aspects of the disclosure described above.

Computer system 4410 also includes a network interface 4404 coupled withbus 4405. Network interface 4404 may provide two-way data communicationbetween computer system 4410 and a local network 4420. Network 4420 mayrepresent one or multiple networking technologies, such as Ethernet,local wireless networks (e.g., WiFi), or cellular networks, for example.The network interface 4404 may be a wireless or wired connection, forexample. Computer system 4410 can send and receive information throughthe network interface 4404 across a wired or wireless local areanetwork, an Intranet, or a cellular network to the Internet 4430, forexample.

In some embodiments, users may access the system using another computingdevice 4450, such as a tablet computer or mobile computer device (e.g.,a mobile phone). Using a local application (e.g., an “App”) or abrowser, for example, users may access data and features describedherein (e.g., placing an order or modifying an amount of ingredients ina recipe). In one embodiment, computing device 4450 may access softwareon cloud server computers 4431 across the Internet 730, for example. Inanother embodiment, computing device 4450 may access software on cloudserver computers 4431 over network 4420 (e.g., using a dedicated tabletfor a kiosk).

In some applications, computing device 4450 may also include a processor4451, memory 4452, storage 4453, network interface 4454, and a bus 4455.Additionally, the aforesaid components may be coupled via bus 4405 to adisplay 4457 for displaying information to a computer user. An inputdevice 4456 such as a keyboard, touchscreen, and/or mouse is coupled tobus 4455 for communicating information and command selections from theuser to processor 4451. The combination of these components allows theuser to communicate with the system. In some systems, buses 4405 and4455 represent multiple specialized buses for coupling variouscomponents of the computer together, for example.

The above description illustrates various embodiments of the presentdisclosure along with examples of how aspects of the particularembodiments may be implemented. The above examples should not be deemedto be the only embodiments, and are presented to illustrate theflexibility and advantages of the particular embodiments as defined bythe following claims. Based on the above disclosure and the followingclaims, other arrangements, embodiments, implementations and equivalentsmay be employed without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cloud computer system for controlling aplurality of remote devices comprising: a first server including a cloudbased operating system comprising a plurality commands to be performedby a plurality of remote devices in a remote system and operations fortriggering processes executed by the remote devices, the cloud basedoperating system generating a set of instructions from the plurality ofcommands and corresponding operations to control a portion of the remotedevices to perform a task; and a second server coupled to the pluralityof remote devices, the second server receiving the instructions from thefirst server, the second server distributing particular instructions tocorresponding remote devices, wherein the second server distributes theinstructions based on particular operations in the instructionscorresponding to particular remote devices, and wherein the secondserver manages the execution of instructions in the remote devices,wherein when a first command associated with a first operationcorresponding to a first remote device is triggered in the first server,the first server generates instructions including the first operation,and the second server distributes the first operation to the firstremote device for execution, and wherein when a second commandassociated with a second operation corresponding to a second remotedevice is triggered in the first server, the first server generatesinstructions including the second operation, and the second serverdistributes the second operation to the second remote device forexecution.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein multiple remote devicesexecute instructions from the second server in parallel.
 3. The systemof claim 1 wherein the commands are natural language expressionscorresponding to one or more device specific operations executable by aremote device.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the commands are mappedto one or more operations for a particular device.
 5. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the commands are mapped to one or more device specificoperations executable by one or more remote devices to perform one ormore device specific processes.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein thecommands are mapped to a particular device, a particular device specificoperation, and one or more parameters for the device specific operation.7. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one remote device is a roboticsystem.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein the distribution ofinstructions alternates between sending an instruction to a roboticsystem and sending an instruction to one of the other remote devices. 9.The system of claim 1 wherein the instructions generated by the firstserver comprise remote device identifications of particular remotedevices associated with the operations, and the second serverdistributes particular instructions based on the remote deviceidentification.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more remotedevices are specified as sharable, and wherein the instructions from thefirst server indicate remote devices that are sharable, wherein when afirst remote device specified as sharable is inactive during a first jobcorresponding to first instructions from the first server, the secondserver distributes an instruction to the first remote device from asecond job corresponding to second instructions from the first server.11. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote devices have associatedoperations and parameters stored in the first server.
 12. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the first server stores information specifying whetheror not a remote device is sharable.
 13. The system of claim 1 wherein aresult of a first command modifies parameters associated with asubsequent command.
 14. The system of claim 1 wherein the first serverfurther stores production recipes specifying a plurality of ingredients,wherein the ingredients are stored in a first plurality of the remotedevices, wherein the ingredients are components of a product produced bythe remote devices, and wherein a particular remote device dispenses aparticular ingredient in response to a particular instruction.
 15. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the first server further stores productionrecipes comprising steps stored in the first server, wherein the stepsare natural language descriptions of a particular portion of a processfor producing the product.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein theproduction recipe steps stored in the first server are associated with apriority, wherein the priorities of different steps of a particularproduction recipe are different and control the order that the secondserver distributes instructions to each device, wherein the priority isstored in the instructions sent from the first server to the secondserver.
 17. The system of claim 15 wherein the first server furtherstores a plurality of mappings associating recipe steps with particularremote devices and one or more device specific operations.
 18. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein a plurality of mappings associate particulardevices in a cluster of remote devices with ingredients, wherein theingredients are components of a product being produced by execution ofthe instructions across the remote devices in the cluster.
 19. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein one or more remote devices are associated witha place data element stored in the first server, the place data elementproviding a physical position of a particular remote device forinteraction with a robotic system.
 20. The system of claim 1 wherein thefirst server is a cloud server and the second server is a local serverin the same location as the remote devices, wherein the local server andthe remote devices are configured in a kiosk.
 21. The system of claim 1wherein a robotic system moves an item between physical interfaces of afirst plurality of the remote devices, wherein each remote device andthe robotic system are coupled to a second server over a network, andthe second server coordinates movement of the item by the robotic systemacross a plurality of predetermined positions based on the distributionof instructions by the second server, wherein the predeterminedpositions are the locations of the physical interfaces for the remotedevices for receiving the item.
 22. The system of claim 21 wherein,after the robotic system places the item in a particular physicalinterface for receiving the item, the corresponding remote devicereceives an instruction from the second server, wherein the instructionconfigures the remote device to move one or more components from a firstlocation to a second location, wherein the second location is in theparticular physical interface, and in accordance therewith, the remotedevice couples the one or more components to the item.
 23. The system ofclaim 22 wherein the components are food ingredients and the item is afood item under production.
 24. The system of claim 23 wherein thecomponents are one or more of a powdered food item, a granulated fooditem, a cut food item, or a liquid food item, and the remote devicesinclude a plurality of dispensers.
 25. The system of claim 1 wherein aplurality of the remote devices have physical interfaces for receivingan item placed in the physical interfaces by a robotic system, andwherein the remote devices move components of the item under productioninto the physical interface based on instructions received from thefirst server and distributed to the remote devices by the second server.26. The system of claim 1 wherein a first device coupled to the secondserver is a robotic system having a maximum reach, and wherein theplurality of remote devices are configured around the robotic systemsuch that physical interfaces for the remote devices are within saidmaximum reach.
 27. The system of claim 26 wherein the maximum reach ofthe robotic system extends over a first portion of a counter, andwherein a second portion of the counter is outside the maximum reach ofthe robotic system, wherein the robotic system places completed items ata first predetermined position on the counter inside the maximum reach,and wherein a delivery mechanism moves the completed items from insidethe maximum reach to outside the maximum reach to a second predeterminedposition.
 28. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote devices comprisea robotic system and a delivery system, and wherein the second serverdistributes a first instruction from the first server to the roboticsystem to place a completed item in a first predetermined position on acounter within a reach of the robotic system, and after the roboticsystem sends a signal to the second server indicating that the roboticsystem has completed the place operation, the second server distributesa second instruction from the first server to the delivery system tomove the completed item from the first predetermined position to asecond predetermined position outside the reach of the robotic system.29. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of remote devices andthe second server are a food production kiosk.
 30. The system of claim 1wherein the plurality of remote devices comprise one or more dispensers,one or more physical processing units, a robotic system, and a deliverysystem for moving an automatically produced food product from a firstposition on a counter within a reach of the robotic system to a secondposition on the counter outside the reach of the robotic system.
 31. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the first server stores informationcomprising: food recipes comprising a plurality of natural languagesteps and a plurality of ingredients, the steps having an associatedorder; devices comprising operations, which when received by the remotedevices, cause the remote devices to execute device specific processes,each operation comprising one or more corresponding parameters; mappingsassociating steps of the recipes to one or more operations on thedevices; and mappings associating food ingredients to particulardevices, wherein, in response to execution of a recipe, the informationon the first server is automatically translated into instructions, sentto a kiosk comprising the second server and the remote devices, and thesecond server distributes instructions comprising the operations to theremote devices based on the order to produce a food product.
 32. Acomputer implemented method of controlling a plurality of remote devicesfrom a cloud computer system comprising: storing, in a memory of thecloud computer system, commands to be performed by a plurality of remotedevices in a remote system and one or more operations for triggeringprocesses executed by the remote devices, generating a set ofinstructions in the cloud computer system in response to a user input,the instructions being generated from the plurality of commands andcorresponding operations to control a portion of a plurality remotedevices to perform a task; and sending the instructions to a firstserver over a network, wherein the first server is coupled to theplurality of remote devices, the first server receiving the instructionsand distributing particular instructions to corresponding remotedevices, wherein the first server distributes the instructions based onparticular operations in the instructions corresponding to particularremote devices, and wherein the first server manages the execution ofinstructions in the remote devices, wherein the remote devices receivingthe distributed instructions execute the particular instructionsreceived from the first server, and wherein each remote device isconfigured to execute a plurality of predefined device specificprocesses in response to the particular instruction.
 33. The method ofclaim 32 wherein at least one remote device is a robotic system.
 34. Themethod of claim 32 wherein the first server further stores productionrecipes specifying a plurality of ingredients, wherein the ingredientsare stored in a first plurality of the remote devices, wherein theingredients are components of a product produced by the remote devices,and wherein a particular remote device dispenses a particular ingredientin response to a particular instruction.
 35. The method of claim 32wherein the first server further stores production recipes comprisingsteps stored in the first server, wherein the steps are natural languagedescriptions of a particular portion of a process for producing theproduct.
 36. The method of claim 32 wherein a plurality of mappingsassociate particular devices in a cluster of remote devices withingredients, wherein the ingredients are components of a product beingproduced by execution of the instructions across the remote devices inthe cluster.
 37. The method of claim 32 wherein one or more remotedevices are associated with a place data element stored in the firstserver, the place data element providing a physical position of aparticular remote device for interaction with a robotic system.
 38. Themethod of claim 32 wherein the plurality of remote devices and thesecond server are a food production kiosk.
 39. The method of claim 32wherein the first server stores information comprising: food recipescomprising a plurality of natural language steps and a plurality ofingredients, the steps having an associated order; devices comprisingoperations, which when received by the remote devices, cause the remotedevices to execute device specific processes, each operation comprisingone or more corresponding parameters; mappings associating steps of therecipes to one or more operations on the devices; and mappingsassociating food ingredients to particular devices, wherein, in responseto execution of a recipe, the information on the first server isautomatically translated into instructions, sent to a kiosk comprisingthe second server and the remote devices, and the second serverdistributes instructions comprising the operations to the remote devicesbased on the order to produce a food product.
 40. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium storing a program executable by at least oneprocessing unit of a computer for controlling a plurality of remotedevices from a cloud computer system, the program comprising sets ofinstructions for: storing, in a memory of the cloud computer system,commands to be performed by a plurality of remote devices in a remotesystem and one or more operations for triggering processes executed bythe remote devices, generating a set of instructions in the cloudcomputer system in response to a user input, the instructions beinggenerated from the plurality of commands and corresponding operations tocontrol a portion of a plurality remote devices to perform a task; andsending the instructions to a first server over a network, wherein thefirst server is coupled to the plurality of remote devices, the firstserver receiving the instructions and distributing particularinstructions to corresponding remote devices, wherein the first serverdistributes the instructions based on particular operations in theinstructions corresponding to particular remote devices, and wherein thefirst server manages the execution of instructions in the remotedevices, wherein the remote devices receiving the distributedinstructions execute the particular instructions received from the firstserver, and wherein each remote device is configured to execute aplurality of predefined device specific processes in response to theparticular instruction.
 41. The machine-readable medium of claim 40wherein at least one remote device is a robotic system.
 42. Themachine-readable medium of claim 40 wherein the first server furtherstores production recipes specifying a plurality of ingredients, whereinthe ingredients are stored in a first plurality of the remote devices,wherein the ingredients are components of a product produced by theremote devices, and wherein a particular remote device dispenses aparticular ingredient in response to a particular instruction.
 43. Themachine-readable medium of claim 40 wherein the first server furtherstores production recipes comprising steps stored in the first server,wherein the steps are natural language descriptions of a particularportion of a process for producing the product.
 44. The machine-readablemedium of claim 40 wherein a plurality of mappings associate particulardevices in a cluster of remote devices with ingredients, wherein theingredients are components of a product being produced by execution ofthe instructions across the remote devices in the cluster.
 45. Themachine-readable medium of claim 40 wherein one or more remote devicesare associated with a place data element stored in the first server, theplace data element providing a physical position of a particular remotedevice for interaction with a robotic system.
 46. The machine-readablemedium of claim 40 wherein the plurality of remote devices and thesecond server are a food production kiosk.
 47. The machine-readablemedium of claim 40 wherein the first server stores informationcomprising: food recipes comprising a plurality of natural languagesteps and a plurality of ingredients, the steps having an associatedorder; devices comprising operations, which when received by the remotedevices, cause the remote devices to execute device specific processes,each operation comprising one or more corresponding parameters; mappingsassociating steps of the recipes to one or more operations on thedevices; and mappings associating food ingredients to particulardevices, wherein, in response to execution of a recipe, the informationon the first server is automatically translated into instructions, sentto a kiosk comprising the second server and the remote devices, and thesecond server distributes instructions comprising the operations to theremote devices based on the order to produce a food product.